U.S. cities the place $1,500 in lease will get you probably the most—and least—area

How a lot area you may get for a month-to-month lease cost of $1,500 relies upon totally on the place you reside.

In Manhattan, New York, it is a mean of 216 sq. toes — roughly the scale of a bed room. However in Wichita, Kansas, the identical quantity will get you a mean of 1,329 sq. toes — sufficient for a multi-room condominium or perhaps a modest home, based on RentCafe.

The rankings are based mostly on common lease and condominium dimension information for March 2025, from actual property information platform Yardi Matrix, which is operated by the identical mother or father firm as RentCafe. The rating used U.S. Census Bureau estimates to outline the 100 most populous cities within the contiguous U.S.

Listed below are the ten markets the place renters get the least area, on common, for $1,500 a month:

1. Manhattan, New York: 216 sq. toes
2. Brooklyn, New York: 297 sq. toes
3. Boston: 311 sq. toes
4. San Francisco: 325 sq. toes
5. Jersey Metropolis, New Jersey: 331 sq. toes
6. Queens, New York: 345 sq. toes
7. Los Angeles, California: 426 sq. toes
8. San Jose, California: 435 sq. toes
9. Irvine, California: 436 sq. toes
10. San Diego: 439 sq. toes

The most costly rental markets are typically massive coastal cities the place demand for housing far exceeds provide. Strict zoning legal guidelines, restricted new development and a longstanding scarcity of inexpensive housing has led to smaller, expensive residences in locations like New York and San Francisco.

In distinction, renters get far extra space for his or her cash within the Midwest and Southern U.S., the place housing is extra inexpensive and usable land is much less scarce.

Listed below are the ten cities the place $1,500 stretches the furthest by way of common quantity of area:

1. Wichita, Kansas: 1,329 sq. toes
2. Toledo, Ohio: 1,268 sq. toes
3. Oklahoma Metropolis: 1,247 sq. toes
4. Tulsa, Oklahoma: 1,231 sq. toes
5. Lubbock, Texas: 1,230 sq. toes
6. Memphis, Tennessee: 1,229 sq. toes
7. Fort Wayne, Indiana: 1,159 sq. toes
8. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 1,138 sq. toes
9. El Paso, Texas: 1,137 sq. toes
10. Corpus Christi, Texas: 1,104 sq. toes

Thankfully for renters, residences are getting barely bigger, based on an April report from RentCafe.

Studios averaged 457 sq. toes in 2024, up 13 sq. toes from the earlier yr. One-bedrooms rose to 735 sq. toes, and two-bedrooms hit 1,097 — modest will increase that give renters a bit extra space.

The rise is essentially because of a wave of recent condominium development delivering bigger items, says RentCafe.

Nonetheless, in the costliest cities, $1,500 typically is not sufficient to cowl even a studio condominium as rents proceed to rise. In New York Metropolis, for instance, the typical lease for a studio is $3,700 a month, based on RentHop.

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