In Forbes' annual ranking of the worst cities in the country for renters, not one but three Bay Area cities now take the top three slots: San Jose (#3), Oakland (#2), and of course, San Francisco (#1). Yes, even San Jose now eclipses New York in having a super shitty rental market.
Compare that to just a couple years back, in 2012, when New York topped this same list, and San Francisco was at #3 behind Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Forbes' ranking is based on factors like vacancy, average monthly rent, median income, rent as a share of monthly income, and year-over-year change in rental rates. So just in case you weren't sad enough about the state of affairs for renters in SF, Forbes confirms that you should probably feel even sadder.
Here's how we stack up:
Average monthly rent, Q4 2014: $2,802
Year-over-year % change in apartment rent: 12.8%
Median houshold income, Q4 2014: $85,087
Avg. rent as a share of household income: 40% Apartment vacancy rate, Q4 2014: 3.6%
Average monthly mortage payment, Q4 2014: $5,851
Mortgage payment v. rent: $3,049 cheaper to rent
Compare that to notoriously expensive New York City (#4), where the year-over-year change in rent was a mere 3.4% last year. That appears to be the deciding factor in this ranking, in fact, because New York still has a higher average rent ($3,290), and New Yorkers still pay a larger portion of their income, on average, to rent (53%).
San Jose beating New York also appears to be based on the year-over-year uptick, which was 11.3% down there in 2014.
And it's no wonder we're all cry-laughing so hard every time someone puts up another suicide chamber like this one on Craigslist, because it's all we can afford.
Related: Mayor's Office Thinks This $2700 Studio Is 'Affordable'