Rental affordability in San Francisco is not as bad as it could be. In a recent study from RentCafé, San Francisco did not rank as the most rent-burdened city.
The rent-to-income ratio for San Francisco was 41%. Mexico City has a rent-to-income ratio of 60%, followed by Manhattan at 59%. Los Angeles had a higher ratio of 47% compared to San Francisco. The two cities with the lowest rental burden are Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Moscow, which have a rent-to-income ratio of 20% and 21%, respectively.
San Franciscans are still paying hefty rental prices with annual rents at $37,800, the third-highest average annual rent among the global cities assessed. San Francisco has a median household income of $92,100, the second-largest median household income, which has helped lessen the rental burden. Comparatively, Manhattan had the highest average rent per year with $44,700, but median household income of $75,600, nearly $20K less than San Francisco.
