Priciest Cities to Rent

Priciest Cities to Rent – CNBC

#		Rent-Income ratio	Population	Median Household Income
1	New York, NY	52%	11,611,400	$60,161
2	Los Angeles, CA	36%	9,932,100	$55,579
3	San Francisco, CA	33%	1,789,900	$79,076
4	Miami, FL	29%	2,514,200	$45,219
5	Detroit, MI	28%	1,806,100	$36,127
6	Boston, MA	28%	4,576,700	$76,731
7	San Diego, CA	28%	3,138,200	$60,606
8	Orange County, CA	26%	3,050,400	$71,884
9	San Jose, CA	25%	1,854,300	$85,677
10	Riverside-San Barnadino, CA	25%	4,287,600	$53,365

Many factors can make a housing rental market difficult to negotiate, such as tight supply and fierce competition for the most desirable properties. But chief among potentially problematic rental factors is the cost. To get an indication of how stretched renters are in each market, the data team at John Burns Real Estate Consulting looked at the rent-to-income ratios in 40 major U.S. cities.
The resulting list is particularly heavy with representatives from one state. And while it might not be the argument-ender on where it's the most difficult to find a rental, it can speak to the costliness of these 10 markets.
This list has the underpinnings of why they are the strongest rental markets in the country,” says Peter Dennehy, Burns Consulting vice president. It’s a combination of reasonably high household income and job growth (meaning cities less-affected by recession or ones growing again), and barriers to home ownership (i.e. cost), as well as a long-term trend toward density.
“We’re expecting continued rent growth, and as landlords push rents higher, we expect to see some movement of current renters into homeownership,” says Wayne Yamano, director of research at Burns. “Move-outs to own are still at historically low levels, but some REITs (real estate investment trusts) are starting to see an uptick.”