Where renters get the most for their money

Written by:
May 7, 2018
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Where renters get the most for their money

Once considered an impermanent step on the way to buying a place, renting real estate is on the rise. In 2016, 36.6% of all household heads were leasing their homes—a twist in the ownership-or-bust narrative that was the norm a decade ago. In 2004, the number of American households who owned a home peaked at 69%—and then the Great Recession hit in 2007. What was thought to be an indelible trend in home ownership became a casualty of an economic crash.

Of course, rent prices have increased sharply as the demand for rental properties has grown. From 2006–2014, cities like San Francisco, New York City, and Austin have all experienced average rental increases of more than 30%. With people putting money into progressively expensive monthly rentals, homeownership could feel farther away than ever.

Some markets have it far worse the others, as a 500 square foot shoebox in New York City may rival the monthly cost of a 2,000 square foot palace in the South. To help discover just how dramatically rental rates vary across America, Stacker used data from Apartment List to rank every state (plus Washington D.C.) by their average apartment rental price per square foot. Data from more than 3,500 cities, towns, and metro areas were considered to compile these averages.

For each state, we've included the average size apartment that $1,500 in monthly rent will afford—read on to discover where renters get the most for their money.

#51. Washington, D.C.

Price per square foot: $2.95

Size of $1,500 apartment: 510 feet

#50. New York

Price per square foot: $2.43

Size of $1,500 apartment: 620 feet

#49. Hawaii

Price per square foot: $2.39

Size of $1,500 apartment: 630 feet

#48. Massachusetts

Price per square foot: $2.31

Size of $1,500 apartment: 650 feet

#47. California

Price per square foot: $2.15

Size of $1,500 apartment: 700 feet

#46. New Jersey

Price per square foot: $1.88

Size of $1,500 apartment: 800 feet

#45. Washington

Price per square foot: $1.64

Size of $1,500 apartment: 910 feet

#44. Rhode Island

Price per square foot: $1.52

Size of $1,500 apartment: 990 feet

#43. Oregon

Price per square foot: $1.43

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,050 feet

#42. Maryland

Price per square foot: $1.41

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,070 feet

#41. Colorado

Price per square foot: $1.41

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,070 feet

#40. Illinois

Price per square foot: $1.4

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,070 feet

#39. Vermont

Price per square foot: $1.39

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,080 feet

#38. New Hampshire

Price per square foot: $1.37

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,090 feet

#37. Maine

Price per square foot: $1.37

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,100 feet

#36. Connecticut

Price per square foot: $1.36

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,100 feet

#35. Florida

Price per square foot: $1.31

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,140 feet

#34. Minnesota

Price per square foot: $1.27

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,180 feet

#33. Alaska

Price per square foot: $1.25

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,200 feet

#32. Virginia

Price per square foot: $1.24

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,210 feet

#31. Pennsylvania

Price per square foot: $1.2

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,250 feet

#30. Wisconsin

Price per square foot: $1.12

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,350 feet

#29. Texas

Price per square foot: $1.07

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,400 feet

#28. Louisiana

Price per square foot: $1.06

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,420 feet

#27. Michigan

Price per square foot: $1.03

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,450 feet

#26. South Carolina

Price per square foot: $1.02

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,470 feet

#25. Arizona

Price per square foot: $1.01

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,490 feet

#24. Delaware

Price per square foot: $0.99

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,520 feet

#23. Utah

Price per square foot: $0.98

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,530 feet

#22. Montana

Price per square foot: $0.97

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,550 feet

#21. Iowa

Price per square foot: $0.97

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,550 feet

#20. Tennessee

Price per square foot: $0.95

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,580 feet

#19. Nevada

Price per square foot: $0.94

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,600 feet

#18. Nebraska

Price per square foot: $0.94

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,590 feet

#17. Georgia

Price per square foot: $0.92

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,630 feet

#16. Ohio

Price per square foot: $0.91

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,660 feet

#15. North Dakota

Price per square foot: $0.91

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,650 feet

#14. North Carolina

Price per square foot: $0.89

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,680 feet

#13. Missouri

Price per square foot: $0.89

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,680 feet

#12. Kentucky

Price per square foot: $0.89

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,690 feet

#11. South Dakota

Price per square foot: $0.88

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,700 feet

#10. Idaho

Price per square foot: $0.88

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,710 feet

#9. New Mexico

Price per square foot: $0.87

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,720 feet

#8. Wyoming

Price per square foot: $0.86

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,740 feet

#7. Indiana

Price per square foot: $0.86

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,740 feet

#6. Kansas

Price per square foot: $0.84

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,790 feet

#5. Oklahoma

Price per square foot: $0.8

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,870 feet

#4. West Virginia

Price per square foot: $0.79

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,890 feet

#3. Mississippi

Price per square foot: $0.79

Size of $1,500 apartment: 1,910 feet

#2. Arkansas

Price per square foot: $0.75

Size of $1,500 apartment: 2,000 feet

#1. Alabama

Price per square foot: $0.74

Size of $1,500 apartment: 2,020 feet

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