New Orleans is among the top 6 U.S. cities with increasingly unaffordable rent, says a new study from SmartAsset—making this probably the first time New Orleans has been ranked alongside San Fransisco and New York for unaffordability.
While New Orleans rents are nowhere near as expensive as those in say, San Fransisco, the study compares U.S. Census income data with rent prices. The study finds that "New Orleans workers saw median income go up less than $500 from 2011 through 2014, while fair market rents increased nearly 12 percent." The study says fair market rent in New Orleans comprises 41 percent of residents' median income. Oakland, California is number 1 on the list, and New Orleans comes in at number 6, right after Houston.
While these studies, which use rental services like RentJungle.com (does anyone here even use that?) that tend to feature only pricier apartments, can be a little skewed, it does seem—anecdotally, at least—like rents are going up while wages remain stagnant. Has that been true for you?
· New Orleans ranks 6th among U.S. cities for increasingly unaffordable rent [NOLA.com]
· New Orleans Might Not Be That Affordable for Renters [Curbed NOLA]
· Curbed Comparisons [Curbed SF]