Renting With Roomies Saves How Much?

One of the ways to save on rental costs is to split the bill with a roommate, and in 10 coastal cities, renters save the most by sharing the financial burden.

Based on comparing average rent price data from RentJungle for one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, San Franciscans save the most money by renting with a roommate, $1,080. New Yorkers are second in best savings, $1,058, and Bostonians round out the top three with $989 saved per month when the rent is split between roommates. At the other end of the spectrum, SmartAsset found that the region where having a roommate pays off the least is the Midwest, with five of the bottom 10 cities. In these cities, the average return for roomies is not quite $300 per month.

Renters in America’s largest cities are no strangers to roommates. As rent costs have risen so has the need for renters to group together to save on housing costs. But while rooming with a friend or an associate certainly has its financial benefits, it also comes with a loss of privacy and comfort that can be hard to value. Below, we take a stab at answering one side of that equation to find the places where having a roommate saves you the most money.

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