- Earning $100,000 opens 77% of U.S. rental listings, versus 31% for a typical renter at $58,000, per a Zillow analysis released October 7.
- At a $2,500 monthly budget, renters get nearly 20% more space and 63% more houses, though median rent exceeds that figure in several large metros.
- Six figures of income rents a 2,119-square-foot house in Memphis but only a 650-square-foot one-bedroom in San Jose, showing how supply drives affordability.
A household earning $100,000 can afford 77% of U.S. rental listings, versus 31% for a typical renter earning $58,000, according to a Zillow analysis published October 7.
What that income buys, though, depends heavily on the metro.
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What a $2,500 Budget Buys
The standard 30% rule puts the monthly budget for a $100,000 household at about $2,500. The national typical market rent is $1,932, while the 2026 median listed rent is $1,750 because small units list more often.
A $2,500 budget reaches nearly 20% more space and 63% more houses than a typical renter can. Of the rentals in range, 30% are houses, 18% condos and 52% apartments, versus 19%, 16% and 65% across the whole market.
Memphis Versus San Jose
In Memphis, six-figure renters find a typical home of 2,119 square feet with four bedrooms, and houses account for 73% of listings in reach. Oklahoma City, where median rent is $1,250, offers 2,000 square feet and three bedrooms.
Raleigh, San Antonio and Houston follow the pattern, with three-bedroom homes above 1,800 square feet. In Houston, 62% of listings in range are single-family.
Coastal Metros Stay Tight
San Jose has the largest median listed rent of any big metro, $3,539. There a $2,500 budget secures a median of 650 square feet, one bedroom and one bath, and 95% of options are apartments or condos.
New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco look similar. Median space at the top of a six-figure budget runs from 726 square feet in San Diego to 801 in New York, compared with 899 square feet for a typical San Jose rental.
Neighborhood Tradeoffs Matter
Choosing a cheaper neighborhood can add about 250 square feet at the same budget, at the cost of commute or walkability. Across 40 of the biggest 50 metros, typical rentals for six-figure earners top 1,000 square feet.
Rent burden affects 47% of coastal California renter households making $85,000-$99,000, compared with 35% of those at $100,000-$115,000.
A Look at the Metro Table
Zillow’s metro table shows the spread for renters shopping near the top of a $2,333 to $2,500 budget. Nationally, the median is 1,152 square feet and two bedrooms, with 30% single-family and 27% one-bedrooms or smaller.
Sun Belt metros offer the most room, with medians of 1,490 square feet in Dallas, 1,644 in Atlanta and 1,546 in Phoenix, and houses making up 43%, 48% and 55% of listings.
Smaller units dominate the coasts. One-bedrooms or smaller are 52% of in-budget listings in New York, 58% in Los Angeles, 60% in San Francisco, 58% in San Diego and 64% in Boston, and San Jose leads at 77%.
Why It Matters
A six-figure salary often means moving to a major job hub, and Zillow notes those hubs tend to be where rents are highest. It calls housing affordability largely a supply problem, with Sun Belt markets that built heavily for pandemic demand now offering renters more options and slower rent growth.
That fits a wider shift, as CRE Daily reported on rental demand migrating toward lower-cost markets. Where supply lagged, even a strong salary leaves renters fewer choices.
What’s Next
Watch whether construction in high-cost metros expands enough to widen options for six-figure earners. Zillow’s data suggests renter affordability depends on supply as much as income.
