California is notorious for having high living expenses, especially for housing, so it is no surprise that a $1,500 monthly rental budget won’t go far in the Golden State.
Researchers at Rent Café and Yardi, a California-based real-estate website and property management software company, analyzed how much apartment space a $1,500 monthly rental budget would get prospective renters in the Golden State.
To compile the list, experts calculated the “price per square foot derived from the average rents and average size of apartments by city using Yardi Matrix data,” according to the report.
The study was broken into two parts that listed how much apartment space a $1,500 budget would get renters in 100 of America’s smallest and largest cities.
How much apartment space a $1,500 monthly budget will give renters in select California cities:
41st: Fresno: 904 square feet
42nd: Bakersfield: 902 square feet
65th: Stockton: 759 square feet
67th: Palmdale: 701 square feet
68th: Fontana: 695 square feet
72nd: Elk Grove: 674 square feet
73rd: Sacramento: 674 square feet
74th: Roseville: 659 square feet.
78th: Santa Clarita: 598 square feet
79th: Riverside: 569 square feet
80th: Anaheim: 557 square feet
82nd: Chula Vista: 541 square feet
84th: Santa Ana: 516 square feet
87th: Long Beach: 468 square feet
88th: Fremont: 458 square feet
90th: San Diego: 449 square feet
91st: San Jose: 445 square feet
92nd: Irvine: 445 square feet.
93rd: Los Angeles: 423 square feet.
94th: Oakland: 418 square feet.
98th: San Francisco: 336 square feet.
Experts advise renters with a budget to look for apartments outside of the Golden State. For renters looking to live in a big city on a budget, Wichita, Kansas, was considered the “best” place to look while Columbus, Georgia was considered the “best” place to look for those who want to live in a smaller city.
The complete study can be viewed here.