U.S. cities the place $1,500 in hire will get you essentially the most—and least—area

How a lot area you may get for a month-to-month hire fee of $1,500 relies upon totally on the place you reside.

In Manhattan, New York, it is a mean of 216 sq. ft — roughly the dimensions of a bed room. However in Wichita, Kansas, the identical quantity will get you a mean of 1,329 sq. ft — sufficient for a multi-room condo or perhaps a modest home, in keeping with RentCafe.

The rankings are primarily based on common hire and condo measurement knowledge for March 2025, from actual property knowledge platform Yardi Matrix, which is operated by the identical mum or dad firm as RentCafe. The rating used U.S. Census Bureau estimates to outline the 100 most populous cities within the contiguous U.S.

Listed below are the ten markets the place renters get the least area, on common, for $1,500 a month:

1. Manhattan, New York: 216 sq. ft
2. Brooklyn, New York: 297 sq. ft
3. Boston: 311 sq. ft
4. San Francisco: 325 sq. ft
5. Jersey Metropolis, New Jersey: 331 sq. ft
6. Queens, New York: 345 sq. ft
7. Los Angeles, California: 426 sq. ft
8. San Jose, California: 435 sq. ft
9. Irvine, California: 436 sq. ft
10. San Diego: 439 sq. ft

The costliest rental markets are usually massive coastal cities the place demand for housing far exceeds provide. Strict zoning legal guidelines, restricted new development and a longstanding scarcity of reasonably priced housing has led to smaller, expensive residences in locations like New York and San Francisco.

In distinction, renters get far more room for his or her cash within the Midwest and Southern U.S., the place housing is extra reasonably priced and usable land is much less scarce.

Listed below are the ten cities the place $1,500 stretches the furthest when it comes to common quantity of area:

1. Wichita, Kansas: 1,329 sq. ft
2. Toledo, Ohio: 1,268 sq. ft
3. Oklahoma Metropolis: 1,247 sq. ft
4. Tulsa, Oklahoma: 1,231 sq. ft
5. Lubbock, Texas: 1,230 sq. ft
6. Memphis, Tennessee: 1,229 sq. ft
7. Fort Wayne, Indiana: 1,159 sq. ft
8. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 1,138 sq. ft
9. El Paso, Texas: 1,137 sq. ft
10. Corpus Christi, Texas: 1,104 sq. ft

Luckily for renters, residences are getting barely bigger, in keeping with an April report from RentCafe.

Studios averaged 457 sq. ft in 2024, up 13 sq. ft from the earlier 12 months. One-bedrooms rose to 735 sq. ft, and two-bedrooms hit 1,097 — modest will increase that give renters a bit more room.

The rise is essentially because of a wave of recent condo development delivering bigger items, says RentCafe.

Nonetheless, in the most costly cities, $1,500 usually is not sufficient to cowl even a studio condo as rents proceed to rise. In New York Metropolis, for instance, the common hire for a studio is $3,700 a month, in keeping with RentHop.

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