How much do households in the Los Angeles, CA area spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $1.89K, or 35.1% of their income, in 2018–2022. This is measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2018–2022, median rent was
35.1%
of median income
In 2018–2022,
$1.89K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability.
Los Angeles, CA area’s median rent was about $1.89K per month in 2018–2022. Typical monthly income among renting households was about $5.39K per month during that same period.
A typical household spent about $1.89K on rent in the Los Angeles, CA area.
Median rent and median renter household income, 2018–2022
Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates greater affordability.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of median monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Los Angeles, CA area's rent-to-income ratio ranked 3 out of 26 California metros.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
Compared to other metro areas in California, the Los Angeles, CA area had the 10th highest median rent and the 11th highest median renter-household income. Out of the 26 metros in the state, the Los Angeles, CA area’s rent-to-income ratio ranked 23rd lowest.
The large metro average rent-to-income ratio was 31.4%.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
The Los Angeles, CA area is classified as a large metro. Large metros had over 1 million people. Compared to other large metros, the Los Angeles, CA area’s rent-to-income ratio was higher than is typical. The average among large metros was 31.4% in 2018–2022, 3.7 percentage points lower than in the Los Angeles, CA area.
Renter income and rent, large metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Atlanta, GA area | $4,480 |
| 2. | Baltimore, MD area | $4,588 |
| 3. | Birmingham, AL area | $3,306 |
| 4. | Boston, MA area | $5,388 |
| 5. | Buffalo, NY area | $3,131 |
| 6. | Charlotte, NC area | $4,307 |
| 7. | Cincinnati, OH area | $3,462 |
| 8. | Cleveland, OH area | $3,222 |
| 9. | Columbus, OH area | $4,100 |
| 10. | Dallas, TX area | $4,738 |
