It's NY v. CA Again: Priciest Rents

Statue of Liberty photo by Zelle Duda, Golden Gate Bridge photo by Maarten van den Heuvel, images on Unsplash

NEW YORK CITY—How much rent are you, your family or friends paying for an apartment? The national average rent for a studio is $1,277. For a one-bedroom it's $1,321. For a two-bedroom the US average is $1,574 and for a three-bedroom it's $1,728.

An Apartment Guide article by Brian Carberry provides those figures and the data for the 50 most expensive cities in the US. Predictably, NY and CA top the lists—and a look at the numbers points to demographic and economic trends.

Studios

With booming economies, wages are higher and apartment rents can command more dollars. In addition, limited housing stock can also result in higher rents. Studios generally mark a younger demographic with people starting out in jobs and without families.

For studios, Redwood City tops the list with an average price at $3,361.65, 163.28% above the national average. Second is San Francisco at $3,356.19, which is 162.85% above the national average. Five years ago, a Northern California public media KQED article “Big Tech Changing Character of Downtown Redwood City” noted “As Big Tech grows its employment base, Redwood City is proving an attractive place to expand because it sits right at the midpoint of the Peninsula, between San Francisco and San Jose.”

Redwood City's website also has a page “New High Tech and Emerging Technologies” where it points out that the city has begun to track companies in these areas. It states “the City is committed to maintaining an environment for 'clustering' as well as supporting growth and development of these important businesses that signal changes in the landscape of the Silicon Valley and beyond.”

As beaches and the waterfront continually attract residents, Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles County ranks third with the average studio price at $3,315.96, 159.70% above the national average. With its economy continuing to diversify from the dominance of the financial sector, New York City ranks fourth with the average studio price at $3,235.19. That's 153.38% above the national average.

Public transportation can make a difference too. Culver City, CA, was once known as a sleepy, more suburban area. But with the Los Angeles Metro Rail connecting to the neighborhood, it now ranks fifth in the country's average studio prices at $3,098.60. This is 142.68% above the national average.

One Bedrooms

With one-bedroom apartments, New York City's average rent of $4,146.71 is the most expensive, 213.91% above the national average. It's followed by San Francisco at $3,854.25, 191.77% higher than the US average. Third is Mountain View, CA at $3,828.04, 189.79% higher than the national average. Redwood City drops to fourth on this list, but still hits a pricey $3,794.36, 187.24% above the US average. Fifth, another city close to the ocean and beach, Santa Monica commands an average rent of $3,786.04. This is 186.61% above the national average.

Two Bedrooms

Two bedrooms suggest two or sometimes more wage earners or tenants. New York takes the top spot for the most expensive place to rent in this category with an average price of $6,105.08, 287.85% greater than the national average. That's followed by Westwood, CA, with rent at $5,259.68, 234.14% above the national average, then Boston, with rent at $4,953.64, 214.70% above the national average. San Francisco ranks fourth with $4,873.75 average rent, at 209.62% more than the national average. Redwood City also made this list with rent at $4,784.86, 203.98% above the country's average.

Carberry notes Westwood is a college town with 45,000 students at UCLA, alone. Boston also attracts the college age demographic with several institutions of higher education.

Three Bedroom

New York City is not even on the Apartment Guide chart in this category. Three bedrooms often signify a family, where children are reaching the age to go to school. This frequently triggers a move to the suburbs.

Four of the five most expensive three-bedroom average prices are in CA. Hollywood tops the list with the average apartment lease amounting to a whopping 412.07% above the national average, costing $8,850.20. Los Angeles hits the second place with average rent of $8,563.10, 395.45% above the national average. Burbank is third at $6,861.12, 296.98% above the national average. Coral Gables, FL makes this list with average rent at $6,830.60, 295.21% above the average of the rest of the country. Marina Del Rey also surfaces in the top five for this size apartment, with an average rent of $6,448.24, 273.09% above the national average.

Apartment Guide based the data on their May 2019 rental property inventory. Click on the link to see the full top 50 city listings in the Apartment Guide article by Carberry, “The Most Expensive Cities in America for Renters.” You can take a look to see if your city is on the lists.

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