1306 ET - In eight major U.S. metro areas, renters now need to make six figures to comfortably afford rent, up from four markets five years ago, Zillow says. Nationwide, renters today need to earn more than $80,000 to comfortably afford the typical rental, up from $60,000 just five years ago. Since April 2020, rent for a typical U.S. apartment has increased by 28.7%, to $1,858, while rent for a single-family home increased by 42.9%, to $2,256. Over that time, the median household income has only risen by 22.5%, to about $82,000--showing that wages have not kept up with rents. A renter making the median income and leasing a typical U.S. rental is just on the right side of the 30% affordability line--the rent burden threshold--spending 29.6% of their income on rent. (chris.wack@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 12, 2025 13:06 ET (17:06 GMT)
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