California is home to five of the eight U.S. metropolitan areas where a six-figure income is necessary to be a financially comfortable renter.
My trusty spreadsheet analyzed April rent data from Zillow, which tracked the stress on household finances caused by the rising cost of being a tenant in the nation’s 50 largest metro areas since the pandemic disrupted the nation’s economy.
The typical renter in the San Jose metro area needed to earn $136,532 per year to keep local apartment rents at just 30% of the median income. San Jose’s April threshold was the nation’s highest.
However, San Jose’s 13% increase in rent burden over the past five years was the second-smallest increase among the 50 metros. The typical rent of $3,413 a month in April equaled 25% of local incomes, the 18th largest share nationwide.
Meanwhile, San Francisco’s $124,267 income threshold was the fourth highest nationally. Yet its 9% bump in five years was the top 50’s smallest. San Francisco’s midpoint rent of $3,107 equaled 28% of incomes – No. 13 nationally.
Southern exposure
The Bay Area’s weak demand for apartments in the pandemic era kept rent hikes tame. That wasn’t true elsewhere in the state.
Ponder San Diego County, where its $122,810 threshold was the fifth-largest nationally. Additionally, this financial burden increased by 41% over five years, the ninth-largest jump among the 50 metropolitan areas. San Diego’s $3,070 rents equaled 33% of income, the fifth-largest share.
In Los Angeles and Orange counties, the $118,958 threshold ranked No. 6 among the 50. The 28% jump in five years was No. 38.
A huge monetary challenge for L.A.-O.C. tenants was a $2,974 midpoint rent in April. That equals 36% of incomes, the nation’s third-highest share.
Then there are Inland Empire tenants who needed to earn $102,722 per year to meet the 30% threshold. That’s eighth-highest among the 50 metros.
Worse, this burden for Riverside and San Bernardino counties expanded by 46% in five years. The only larger jumps nationally were in Miami (54%), Tampa (52%), and Providence, Rhode Island (51%).
And the Inland Empire’s $2,568 rent represents 33% of local incomes, the sixth-highest share nationally.
The bargain?
Then there’s Sacramento. It’s $94,002 threshold was the only one of the six California metros in the study that was less than $100,000. Still, this burden ranked 10th highest nationally.
The 31% gain in five years ranked No. 31. The typical rent of $2,350 equals 28% of incomes (No. 12).
The nationwide $80,949 threshold was up 35% in five years. The $2,024 midpoint rent runs 30% of a typical American household’s income.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
