RentCafe’s annual analysis of 200 cities has found Wichita, Kansas, to be the most generous for space when considering a $1,500 budget.
Nationally, a monthly rent of $1,500 can get a renter an average of 782 square feet of apartment space, according to Yardi Matrix data. However, in Wichita, the square footage nearly doubles at 1,463 square feet.
While 56% of the 200 largest cities in the nation offer more square footage than the national average—with many being in the South—Toledo, Ohio, is second to Wichita with 1,379 square feet for $1,500. Tulsa, Oklahoma, comes in at third with 1,386 square feet.
Others in the top 10 for generous living space (roughly from 1,350 to 1,200 square feet) include Oklahoma City; Memphis, Tennessee; Fort Wayne, Indiana; El Paso, Texas; and Lubbock, Texas. At 1,200 to 1,100 square feet, Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, round out the top 10 and are closely followed by Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Louisville, Kentucky.
On the opposite end of the list, Manhattan, New York, is the only place where you can rent an apartment less than 300 square feet for $1,500. In Boston, renters can secure 320 square feet for $1,500, followed by a step up at 336 square feet in San Francisco.
Brooklyn, New York, is in the bottom five with 342 square feet along with Jersey City, New Jersey, with 336 square feet. For a monthly rent of $1,500, Jersey City apartments are smaller than those of Queens, New York, with an average of 362 square feet compared with 393 square feet in Queens.
Jumping to the West Coast, the bottom 10 lists all California cities including Oakland, Los Angeles, Irvine, San Jose, and San Diego at 449 square feet or less. Seattle and Fremont, California, follow at 453 square feet and 458 square feet, respectively.
