It’s expensive to rent in South Florida.
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Renting a place in the 305 can eat up a paycheck.
A new report from WalletHub found that Miami is the most unaffordable place for renters out of 182 American cities surveyed.
The median income in the city of Miami is $62,462, and the median monthly rent is $1,758. That means the median monthly rent takes up 33.77% of the city’s median monthly income. WalletHub used U.S. census data from 2024 for this report.
Miami-Dade County faces a significant workforce and affordable housing shortage. The nonprofit Miami Housing for All has estimated that the county needs around 90,000 additional units of housing affordable for people making 80% of the area’s median income to close the gap.
This shortage makes it difficult for middle- and low-income workers to find places to live within their budgets, leaving many Miami-Dade households rent-burdened, or paying 30% or more of their income in rent. Census data shows that nearly 60% of renters in the Greater Miami area are rent burdened.
How did other Florida cities rank?
Florida cities joined Miami at the bottom of the list. Orlando ranked 175 of 182, Pembroke Pines 174th, Port St. Lucie 172nd and Cape Coral 171st.
Tampa ranked 159th, with Tallahassee just behind at 158th, Fort Lauderdale 155th and St. Petersburg 153rd.
The most affordable city in Florida included in the report was Jacksonville, which ranked 125th.
The poor showing for cities in Florida means that wages are relatively low and rents are relatively high in cities across the state. That has stoked concerns in Miami-Dade and other high cost-of-living locales in Florida about people priced out of the area, or even out of the state entirely.
Other major cities on the list
Cities like New York and San Francisco are often listed among the most expensive for renters. But according to the WalletHub report, both are more affordable than Miami, with New York coming in at 161st and San Francisco 43rd.
Though the average rents in New York and San Francisco may be higher than in Miami, the average income there is higher, too.
Other major cities on the list included Los Angeles, which ranked 170th, Houston 126th and Chicago 43rd. Phoenix ranked 86th and Dallas ranked 122nd.
Cities with the most affordable rent
1. Bismarck, North Dakota
2. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
3. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
4. Charleston, West Virginia
5. Fargo, North Dakota
Cities with the least affordable rent
178. Jackson, Mississippi
179. New Haven, Connecticut
180. Newark, New Jersey
181. Detroit, Michigan
182. Miami, Florida
Miami Herald
Catherine Odom covers real estate for the Miami Herald. She previously interned on the Herald’s government team and has worked as a journalist in Germany and Armenia. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.