San Jose has long been considered an expensive place to live. Recently though, this assumption has been substantiated by data from the Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index, which has found that those earning under $131,563.45 a year in San Jose are considered "rent burdened" (Report).
What does it mean to be rent burdened? Well, it's not as simple as struggling to pay rent – the term refers to those who spend at least 30% of their income on housing, with the potential for viable disposable income decreasing as housing costs increase.
Individuals making less than $80,000 a year in San Jose are considered "severely rent burdened", meaning they spend at least 50% of their income on housing – a staggering amount.
(Report)
San Jose ranks as the city with the most expensive rent in the United States, with an average cost of $3,289.09 per month. This is in stark contrast to cities like Wichita, Kansas, where the average resident pays just $998.97 in rent.
