If you guessed the Big Apple, you'd be wrong. It's the City by the Bay with a median rent of $1,463; New York City had the fifth highest at $1,187. San Jose, Boston, and Washington, D.C. were ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.
San Francisco, a city where "63.6 percent of all units are occupied by renters... has the highest median rent among the nation’s largest cities, beating New York handily, according to data from 2010 to 2012 released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, reports Examiner staff writer Jonah Owen Lamb.
San Francisco is the 14th-largest city in the country, with roughly 825,000 residents as of 2012, and it beat out every larger city in the U.S., and a handful of other high-rent locales, when it comes to median rents: $1,463.
The highest median rent, though, is not a measure of housing affordability, which looks at income as well. In San Francisco, "rents equaling 35 percent or more of household income only applied to 37.6 percent of rental units", writes Lamb. By contrast, Los Angeles, where median rent was $1,159, a whopping 52.7 percent of rental units paid 35 percent or more of their household income to rents," he adds.
While not the most unaffordable city in terms of rental costs, it ranked as the highest concern among San Francisco residents in a September survey, with "50 percent of those polled [citing] the affordability of living in The City as their No. 1 concern," writes Lamb.
The survey is based on "data from 2010 to 2012 released today [Nov. 14] by the U.S. Census Bureau." It was "released as part of the 2012 annual American Community Survey's three-year look at housing data," Lamb writes.
FULL STORY: New numbers show San Francisco has nation’s highest rents
San Francisco's Housing Crisis is Deepening, Despite Falling Rents
Despite the purported exodus of untethered Silicon Valley workers from the Bay Area, rents in the city are still the highest in the United States.
California as a Model for Housing Legislation
The Golden State may have the nation's most severe housing crisis, but there is one area of state housing policy where it shines, becoming a model for other states that want to advance accessory dwelling units, also called granny or in-law units.
Homes, Not Parking
The Balboa Reservoir is the perfect spot for housing in San Francisco, Nicole Lindler argues, and the notion that it should remain a surface parking lot shows badly disordered priorities.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time
A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.
Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth
Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.
Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas
Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions