Not everyone is cut out for living with roommates, but finding an affordable place to live alone can be tricky. Luckily, the Greater Austin area has become the No. 1 most affordable metro in America for living by yourself, according to a new report.
Analysts at Apartments.com discovered Austin renters spend the lowest share of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent out of the 50 biggest metros in the U.S. Dwindling rent prices and the prevalence of major tech employers are also attracting new renters, and the city has an 11.6 percent apartment vacancy rate.
The study used a 30 percent "common budgeting guideline" to calculate the share of median renter household income spent on one-bedroom asking rents across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and determined renters can only afford to live alone in 24 of the 50 metros without crossing the 30 percent threshold.
The median annual income of an Austin renter household is just over $70,000, and the findings show the typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment comes out to $1,348 per month. The study determined single Austin renters spend 23.1 percent of their monthly income on rent based on the budgeting suggestion, the lowest nationwide.
"The average rent in Austin has decreased year over year and construction of new housing increased by 30 percent over the past decade," the report's author wrote. "Tax incentives in Texas draw large tech corporations, like Google and Apple, to the Austin area, which has increased average wages, added more jobs to the local economy, and attracted renters in the process."
Texas' favorable rental market also extends outside of the capital city: San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth also appear among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for renters who want to live alone. The two metros ranked 6th and 7th nationally with renters spending a little more than quarter of their income — 25.4 and 25.6 percent, respectively — on rent for single-bedroom apartments.
This is the income and one-bedroom rent data for both metros:
- $51,029 – San Antonio median renter household income
- $1,082 – San Antonio one-bedroom monthly asking rent
- $63,172 – Dallas-Fort Worth median renter household income
- $1,348 – Dallas-Fort Worth one-bedroom monthly asking ren
"Factors contributing to lower rents [across Texas] may include recent high levels of construction, rising vacancy rates as renter demand catches up to supply, and fewer regulations, such as flexible zoning and lower development costs compared to other parts of the country," the report said. "Living alone has become a non-negotiable for many renters, and some renters are willing to make tradeoffs to afford this lifestyle."
A separate Apartments.com survey found 39 percent of U.S. adults would never feel comfortable living with a roommate, and 16 percent of renters would rather pay more in rent to live alone than consider living with a roommate.
The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone are:
- No. 1 – Austin
- No. 2 – Oklahoma City
- No. 3 – Phoenix
- No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
- No. 5 – Salt Lake City, Utah
- No. 6 – San Antonio
- No. 7 – Dallas-Fort Worth
- No. 8 – Denver
- No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
- No. 10 – Columbus, Ohio