City rankings · Global

Most expensive cities for renters

Ranked by the share of gross income the typical renter spends on a 1-bedroom apartment. Higher rank means rent consumes a larger portion of your paycheck.

High rank = high rent burden

Being at the top of this list means renters in that city dedicate the largest share of their gross income to housing. This isn't just about absolute rent levels — even prosperous cities like Dublin or Miami rank highly because wages don't fully compensate for the cost of renting. A city can have high nominal salaries yet still impose a heavy rent burden if housing costs have outpaced income growth. Click any city to see the full income and rent breakdown.

1

🇵🇹Lisbon

Median 1,650/mo · Need 66,000/yr

46%

Risky

2

🇺🇸Miami

Median $2,700/mo · Need $108,000/yr

42%

Stretch

3

Hong Kong

Median HK$18,000/mo · Need HK$720,000/yr

42%

Stretch

4

🇬🇧London

Median £2,300/mo · Need £92,000/yr

41%

Stretch

5

🇺🇸New York

Median $3,200/mo · Need $128,000/yr

38%

Stretch

6

🇺🇸Los Angeles

Median $2,700/mo · Need $108,000/yr

38%

Stretch

7

🇨🇦Vancouver

Median CA$2,700/mo · Need CA$108,000/yr

38%

Stretch

8

🇪🇸Barcelona

Median 1,450/mo · Need 58,000/yr

38%

Stretch

9

🇮🇪Dublin

Median 1,800/mo · Need 72,000/yr

38%

Stretch

10

Mumbai

Median 40,000/mo · Need 1,600,000/yr

38%

Stretch

11

São Paulo

Median R$3,500/mo · Need R$140,000/yr

37%

Stretch

12

🇮🇹Rome

Median 1,100/mo · Need 44,000/yr

36%

Stretch

13

Prague

Median 26,000/mo · Need 1,040,000/yr

36%

Stretch

14

Bogotá

Median COP2,000,000/mo · Need COP80,000,000/yr

36%

Stretch

15

🇨🇦Toronto

Median CA$2,400/mo · Need CA$96,000/yr

35%

Stretch

16

🇫🇷Paris

Median 1,600/mo · Need 64,000/yr

35%

Stretch

17

🇦🇺Sydney

Median A$2,900/mo · Need A$116,000/yr

35%

Stretch

18

🇺🇸Boston

Median $2,900/mo · Need $116,000/yr

34%

Manageable

19

Warsaw

Median 3,800/mo · Need 152,000/yr

34%

Manageable

20

Mexico City

Median MX$12,000/mo · Need MX$480,000/yr

34%

Manageable

21

🇪🇸Madrid

Median 1,450/mo · Need 58,000/yr

33%

Manageable

22

🇮🇹Milan

Median 1,500/mo · Need 60,000/yr

33%

Manageable

23

🇦🇺Melbourne

Median A$2,300/mo · Need A$92,000/yr

32%

Manageable

24

Shanghai

Median ¥7,000/mo · Need ¥280,000/yr

32%

Manageable

25

🇩🇪Munich

Median 1,950/mo · Need 78,000/yr

31%

Manageable

26

🇺🇸San Francisco

Median $2,800/mo · Need $112,000/yr

30%

Manageable

27

🇺🇸Chicago

Median $2,000/mo · Need $80,000/yr

30%

Manageable

28

🇺🇸Austin

Median $1,750/mo · Need $70,000/yr

30%

Manageable

29

🇺🇸Denver

Median $1,900/mo · Need $76,000/yr

30%

Manageable

30

🇺🇸Atlanta

Median $1,700/mo · Need $68,000/yr

30%

Manageable

31

🇳🇱Amsterdam

Median 2,000/mo · Need 80,000/yr

30%

Manageable

32

🇩🇪Frankfurt

Median 1,600/mo · Need 64,000/yr

29%

Manageable

33

🇺🇸Seattle

Median $2,300/mo · Need $92,000/yr

28%

Manageable

34

🇩🇪Hamburg

Median 1,450/mo · Need 58,000/yr

28%

Manageable

35

Stockholm

Median kr15,000/mo · Need kr600,000/yr

28%

Manageable

36

Copenhagen

Median kr10,300/mo · Need kr412,000/yr

28%

Manageable

37

🇧🇪Brussels

Median 1,100/mo · Need 44,000/yr

28%

Manageable

38

Tokyo

Median ¥120,000/mo · Need ¥4,800,000/yr

28%

Manageable

39

🇩🇪Berlin

Median 1,250/mo · Need 50,000/yr

27%

Manageable

40

🇨🇭Zurich

Median CHF2,700/mo · Need CHF108,000/yr

27%

Manageable

41

🇦🇪Dubai

Median AED8,500/mo · Need AED340,000/yr

27%

Manageable

42

🇸🇬Singapore

Median S$3,700/mo · Need S$148,000/yr

26%

Manageable

43

Bangalore

Median 32,000/mo · Need 1,280,000/yr

26%

Manageable

44

Oslo

Median kr15,500/mo · Need kr620,000/yr

25%

Manageable

45

🇦🇹Vienna

Median 1,200/mo · Need 48,000/yr

24%

Comfortable

46

Seoul

Median 1,000,000/mo · Need 40,000,000/yr

23%

Comfortable

How to read this

The % shows the median rent-to-income ratio for renters in each city — based on gross income and typical 1-bedroom rent. Under 25% is comfortable, 25–35% is manageable, 35–45% is a stretch, 45%+ is risky. Click any city for the full breakdown and to check your own salary against local benchmarks.

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