theMReport.com Your trusted source for mortgage banking news
Friends sitting and talking in their new apartment while unpacking their things from cardboard box.
The average 897-square-foot apartment in America runs about $1,700 per month, and it costs even more for those aiming to live comfortably in a major metropolitan area.
Researchers at SpareRoom.com suggest one way renters lighten the financial load is to have a roommate. In fact, they found that some Americans save as much as $33,000 per year by sharing a space.
“Cities are some of the most vibrant and exciting places to live, yet city living can be incredibly expensive,” Matt Hutchinson, spokesperson for SpareRoom said. “Sharing costs with roommates is a great way to make things more affordable, plus you get to meet new people and explore the city together.”
Analysts at SpareRoom used the site’s own data to find the average monthly roommate rent in the third quarter of 2023 for each of the top 25 metro areas. Then they culled data from Apartment List regarding average monthly rents for a one-bedroom apartment in each city so that they could determine where in the U.S. renters can save the most by cohabiting with another tenant.
In New York City, which took the No. 1 slot, tenants save more than $33,000 in a year, on average, by sharing a home with a roommate. In Boston those savings amount to some $25,476, making it the second most profitable place to find a roommate. Three California cities round out the top five places where roommates lead to big savings—San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles, where tenants with roommates can save $22,656, $20,928, and $17,880, respectively.
And, Hutchinson adds, now might be as good a time as ever to either find a roommate or encourage a prospective tenant to do so.
“After the holiday season, many people look for ways to make financial cutbacks,” Hutchinson said. “Making the switch to living with roommates can save you a staggering amount over the course of a year.”For SpareRoom.com’s detailed list of potential savings by city, visit SpareRoom.com.
