How Much Should You Make to Afford Rent in San Francisco?
For the squeamish, it might be best to look away. For the those with stronger reserve, another data compilation was released today by SmartAsset with arguably bad news. You will need to make $216,219 annually to rent a two-bedroom in San Francisco.
This comes on the heels of news that college grads can expect to pay upward of 79 percent of their income to rent in Baghdad by the Bay.
Ta-da.
“While rental rates have increased in recent years, wages haven’t kept up,” says SmartAsset. “The median household income in the city is only $78,378.”
And San Francisco lands at the top of the list. Behold:
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This is a 7.4 percent bump up from 2015, which showed that one needed $201,171 annually for a fair market two-bedroom in San Francisco. Compare this to Detroit, who landed at the bottom of the list with an envy-inducing annual salary requirement of only $37,971.
On the plus side, San Francisco is no longer tops when it comes to rising rents. Data shows the we’re number six when it comes to rocketing rent prices, trailing behind Detroit (#5), Miami (#4), Dallas (#3), Phoenix (#2), and Los Angeles (#1).
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SmartAsset used a 28 percent rent-to-income ratio to come up with their numbers. Be sure to follow our regular series Curbed Comparisons wherein we offer up four rentals for the same price. It’s a window into the soul of San Francisco’s ever-percolating rental market.