A monthly rent budget of $1,500 can buy dramatically different outcomes depending on where a renter looks, according to RentCafe’s analysis of Census Bureau data for the 200 largest U.S. cities. In McAllen, Texas, that budget could secure a 1,378-square-foot apartment with three to four bedrooms, while in Manhattan it would barely cover a 210-square-foot studio, roughly the size of an average dorm room, according to RentCafe.
That contrast highlights how uneven rent-to-space economics remain across the U.S. multifamily market. Nationally, RentCafe said the average rent was $1,740 per month and the average apartment size was 835 square feet.
The spread in value was especially notable in the South and Midwest. In 97 of the cities studied, mainly in those regions, $1,500 would pay for a one- or two-bedroom apartment, according to RentCafe. In some markets, the same budget stretched far further.
In Macon, Georgia, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, renters could land a four-to-five-bedroom apartment for $1,500, while eight other cities offered three- to four-bedroom options, the analysis found.
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