Most people who live alone know they’re paying a premium compared to their friends who split rent with partners or roommates. But in no city is this “singles tax” more expensive than in New York City.
In the city that never sleeps, singles pay an average of $20,100 more per year to live alone.
That’s according to an analysis from real estate platforms StreetEasy and Zillow, which owns the StreetEasy brand. They calculated the additional cost a person is paying to live solo in a one-bedroom apartment rather than sharing that space with a partner.
Couples who live together in a one-bedroom apartment in New York City save a combined average of $40,200 per year on rent, according to the analysis.
Other cities with expensive rent, like San Francisco, San Jose, California and Boston, also come with a hefty singles tax – but paying to live alone in New York costs the most.
Nationwide, the typical annual savings for a pair of cohabitating renters is $15,123. That’s more than $25,000 lower than the New York City average.
“New York City is abundant with young people looking to live alone. People want to live there, and because the demand is so high, that is a major reason for the discrepancy,” said Emily McDonald, Zillow’s rental trends expert.
“For a lot of people, it comes with a lot of value,” she added.
When comparing New York City’s boroughs, couples who live together save the most money in Manhattan, where the average one-bedroom apartment rents for $4,200, according to the report.
The report highlights how expensive rent has become in major cities.
Nearly half of all renter households in the US paid more than 30% of their income towards housing costs in 2023, qualifying them as “cost-burdened,” according to the latest government data available.
For those who are fed up with paying a premium for being partnerless, Zillow also calculated which major US cities have the lowest singles tax. Detroit takes the top spot. In that city, the average rent is $813, and couples save $9,753 annually for living together, meaning the singles tax is $4,876. El Paso, Cincinnati and Buffalo are among the other major cities where it is relatively more affordable to live alone in a one-bedroom apartment, according to Zillow.
As home prices have continued to rise and average mortgage rates hover around 7%, McDonald said Zillow is seeing more families stay in the rental market longer in many cities, adding to the overall competition for rental units.
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But lately, rent growth across the country has begun to level off. According to a separate report from Zillow released earlier this month, January saw an increase of 0.2% in average rents in the US. The average month-over-month rent growth for this time of year before the pandemic was 0.3%. More than 41% of landlords also offered concessions to attract renters in January, a record high in Zillow data.
Still, McDonald’s advised people who are weighing whether to live alone to carefully consider their budget.
“Beyond just rent, you’re going to be paying utilities alone, internet alone,” she said. “Household essentials cost more when they’re not split.”