“Los Angeles renters are finally seeing meaningful relief after several years of exceptionally high rents, but lower asking rents don’t necessarily make housing affordable for recent graduates,” Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu said in a statement. “Even with recent declines, many new graduates will still spend around or more than the recommended 30% of their income on rent. While conditions are improving, entry-level workers in many fields continue to face difficult housing tradeoffs.”
Using salary projections from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, adjusted to reflect Los Angeles wages, Realtor.com estimated that new computer science graduates earn about $94,000 annually in Los Angeles County, compared with about $79,000 for business graduates, $76,000 for social science graduates and $73,000 for communications graduates.