Housing is the largest monthly expense for most Americans. Singles with one income may have difficulty renting an apartment on their own, and some cities are more affordable than others.
Each year, RentHop updates the Singles Index to calculate the housing burden – the percentage of income a single renter has to allocate each month to rent a studio home – in the largest cities in the country. In our sixth annual edition, we also broke down the data to analyze the single renter burden by gender. Using the median nonfamily income and nonfamily household income by sex data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, we found that:
- New York, NY, remains the least affordable city for single renters. Single renters must spend 69.53% of their income to rent a studio apartment.
- New York is also the least affordable city for single women when breaking down the data by sex. Female renters must allocate 77.96% of their annual income vs. 60.71% for single men.
- Meanwhile, Wichita, KS, remains the most affordable city. With a median studio rent of $600 per month, a single renter only needs to spend 18.03% of their income on rent.
- Single female renters in Miami, FL, would have to spend 1.71 times more of their income to live alone than men. For male renters, the monthly burden is 42.16%, whereas for women, it is 71.96% of their income.
- While California has some of the smallest gender wage gaps in the country, San Jose has the third-highest housing cost gap among all the cities. Single female renters would have to spend 33.73% of their annual income on a studio home, 1.45x higher more than their male counterparts.
Least Affordable Cities for Singles
1. New York, NY
New York City is yet again the most expensive city for singles, where the median rent for a studio apartment is a whopping $3,505. This city became more expensive for singles this year, where the cost of rent increased at a greater rate than wages. Single men have the advantage in New York City, where their median income outpaces women by over $15,000.
2. Miami, FL
Miami rent increased the most out of the five least affordable cities for renters, maintaining its spot as the second least friendly city. The median studio rent increased by 5.29% since last year, and singles can expect to spend 53.32% of their income on rent.
3. Detroit, MI
It’s unaffordable to be single in Detroit, where lower wages mean singles spend a high premium to live alone. The median rent for a studio apartment is $900 this year, but singles with a median income of $27,930 end up spending 38.67% of their income on housing. Detroit is the only city of the top five to have the median income go down, so residents bear a bigger burden than in the past.
4. Boston, MA
Boston’s rent remained steady at $2,350 year over year. Renters still spend 34.97% of their income on housing. In this city, there is a significant difference in affordability between the genders, where single women earn $73,957 and spend 38.13% toward renting, but single men earn $88,924 and spend 31.71% on rent.
5. Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia moved up to the fifth least affordable city for singles this year. With a median studio rent of $1,295, singles in this city can expect to spend 33.77% of their income on rent yearly. Single men also have the advantage in this city, where they outearn women by $11,720, easing their housing costs.
Most Affordable Cities for Singles
1. Wichita, KS
Wichita’s low housing costs make it affordable for single renters looking to live on their own. Wichita has the lowest median rent of all the cities at $600, and singles earn a median income of $39,933. Therefore, they will only have to direct 18.03% of their income toward housing, which leaves plenty of their funds available for dating activities.
2. Seattle, WA
Seattle moved up to the 2nd most affordable city for singles. The city boasts the fourth-highest median of all cities, where singles earn $88,640 yearly. While the median studio rent is $1,450, singles only direct 19.63% of their earnings toward renting costs.
3. Colorado Springs, CO
Rent became less expensive in Colorado Springs this year, and the city managed to move in the rankings to become the third most affordable city for singles. Singles earning a median income of $57,796 can expect to spend 19.70% of it on their monthly rent. The rent decreased to $949, both single men and women pay under the 30% housing budget recommendation, leaving money for other activities.
4. Columbus, OH
Columbus is also an appealing city for singles because of its housing affordability. Single men in this city earn $53,692 and spend 19% of it on housing, and single women earn $48,819 then spend 20.89% on rent. Rent is more affordable in this city, where renters spend a median of $850 for a studio apartment.
5. Austin, TX
Austin, TX makes its way to be the fifth most affordable city for singles. Median studio rent decreased by 5.52% since last year, and increased income by 3.30%. The median studio rent is $1,199 this year, but renters will only spend 20.29% of their income on housing costs.
Housing Burden Among Singles, Broken Down by Gender
Many single renters feel the effects of strenuous economic conditions when considering the gender wage gap. According to Pew Research, the gap slightly decreased in 2025 – for every dollar men earned, women earned only 85 cents. Translating to housing, the gap means it is harder for women to buy or even rent a home independently.
Our analysis indicates that across the top 50 U.S. cities, single women, on average, would have to spend 1.22 times more of their annual income on renting a studio than their male counterparts. In numerous cities, renting is unaffordable for single men and women, such as Detroit, MI, Baltimore, MD, and Oakland, CA. However, we see a different story when ranking the cities by the housing burden gap.
Miami is the Most Unfriendly City for Single Women Renters
The list below highlights the 10 U.S. cities with the worst housing burden gap among single renters. In Miami, FL, single women would have to spend 71.96% of their income on housing if they wished to rent a studio home and live alone, over the commonly known 30% standard for housing affordability. Meanwhile, single men would only need to spend 42.16% of their income.
While California has a smaller gender pay gap at the state level compared to many other states, three of its cities, San Jose, Long Beach, and Bakersfield, are ranked as some of the most unfriendly cities for single women to rent a studio. In San Jose, the median studio rent is $2,095. This means that a single female renter making the median nonfamily household income of $74,529 would have to spend 33.73% of their annual income on rent. Single men, on the other hand, would spend only 23.29% of their income on a studio home with a median income of $107,923.
New York City, while unaffordable for both men and women, puts a larger burden on single women trying to rent a studio apartment. Women with a median income of $53,953 will need to spend 77.96% monthly to afford a studio, whereas men will spend 60.71% of their income on rent.
Methodology
The RentHop Singles Index analyzes both proprietary and ACS Census data to provide a snapshot of housing affordability for single-income households across the 50 most populous cities in the country. To compile our housing price data, we pulled every listing for a studio apartment advertised on RentHop from January 1 to December 31, 2025. In theory, a single person can rent a larger space, but we chose this unit type to represent the minimum space in which one can live alone.
To calculate the index, the following statistics were used:
- Median non-family household income from the U.S. Census
- Median advertised prices for the “studio” unit type via RentHop data
- Year-over-year price changes for the “studio” unit type based on RentHop data
- Population count by city from the U.S. Census
The income factor reflects median nonfamily household income. Median values are less likely to be skewed by outliers and, therefore, more representative of the income distribution and what typical single Americans make.
For more information on our methodology or to contact our data team, please email press@renthop.com.
Full Data
You can learn more about our index this year using the two interactive tables below. The first table includes overall rankings and housing burden, and the second one further breaks down the data by gender.
