In the most expensive housing markets such as Miami, New York City, and Los Angeles, renters who live alone spend much more than 30 percent of their income on their rents. Taking in a roommate, though, relieves the cost burdens significantly.
Trulia reports that in the nation’s biggest rental markets, a renter can save an average of 13 percent of his or her income by splitting costs with a roommate.
In San Francisco, where the median rent is $3,000, people save $1,184 a month by sharing a three-bedroom unit.
Even renters in cheaper markets such as St. Louis, Baltimore, and Phoenix save more than 5 percent of their income every month with a roommate.
In all of the top 25 rental markets (with Miami being an exception), splitting a two-bedroom apartment between two people makes the rent affordable (where each renter spends less than 30% of their income on rent) for those making the median household income and even for those making only the median household income for millennials.
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