We asked the BuzzFeed Community what their jobs are and how much they pay monthly for rent. The responses were soooooo fascinating. Here’s what people said:
1. “I work as a graphic designer. I live in a smaller town about 45 minutes south of downtown Kansas City. I pay +$1,200 (including utilities) for a one-bedroom apartment. I’ve lived here for about three years, and my rent has increased by around $100 each year. And it’s still one of the cheapest apartments around here.”
—Anonymous, 34, female
2. “I’m a teacher. I pay $2,775, excluding utilities, for a one-bedroom apartment. Less than 800 square feet.”
—Anonymous, 36, female, CT
3. “I work in entertainment media. I live in a city in Fairfield County, CT. I’ve lived here for about three years, and my rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,915. Plus, I have added fees for parking and garbage collection. I’ve looked around, and it’s still one of the cheapest places I’ve been able to find. Everything else is at least $2,300 for a one-bedroom apartment.
—Anonymous, female
4. “I’m self-employed. My rent is $1,350 a month ($50 is for my cat and dog) for a two-story house with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a basement, a deck, and a fenced-in yard in Ohio. No roommates. And I would consider this expensive.”
—Anonymous, 32, female
5. “I’m a stay-at-home mom/grandma in Streetsboro, Ohio. I rent a three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,490-square-foot place for $2,300. But this is a great area and a great school district. Easy to get anywhere. IMO, the best city to be near is to get far enough away from the city.”
—Anonymous, 43, female
6. “I’m a speech language pathologist. I pay $1,155 for a two-bedroom apartment.”
—Anonymous, 39, female, Ohio
7. “I’m a bartender. I pay $1,300 a month for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom bottom duplex.”
—Anonymous, 34, female, Black Mountain, NC
8. “I’m a medical receptionist. My rent is $1,200 per month, and it is probably the most affordable place in town. Everything I’m seeing nowadays is $1,450 or more.”
—Anonymous, 33, female, Asheville, NC
9. “I work in tech sales. I’m mortgaging a three-bedroom house for $1,500 a month.”
—Anonymous, 35, male, North Carolina
10. “I’m a school system administrator. I pay just over $2,000/mo (which includes landscaping and other fees) for a 1,900-square-foot three-bedroom townhouse with a garage. This was a discounted rate for a new-construction neighborhood because their prices were too high and they couldn’t fill all of the units. They were originally $2,400/mo. I feel very lucky, but I’m also wondering how much the rent will go up at the end of my lease.”
—Anonymous, 44, female, Wake County, NC
11. “I’m a wardrobe manager. I pay $1,470 a month, including utilities, split evenly with my partner.”
—Anonymous, 28, female, Portland, OR
12. “I’m an IT Analyst. I pay $1,970 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom.”
—Anonymous, 46, female, OR
13. “I’m a therapist. I pay $950 per month plus utilities for a three-bedroom ranch with a fenced-in yard and a finished basement. I rent from a relative, and the going rate for the same thing in my area is $1,200 to $1,800. My house isn’t updated or new, but it’s livable and safe for my family.”
—Anonymous, 27, female, Pennsylvania
14. “I’m a social worker. I live in the heart of the city, next to the downtown area, and my one-bedroom apartment is only 500 square feet, and I pay $ 1,450. I basically pay to be close to everything.”
—Anonymous, 36, female, Austin, TX
15. “I’m a bartender. I pay $1,400 for a 650-square-foot apartment in a central location of a major city. The apartment features central air, a dishwasher, and a washer/dryer. A driveway to park. A backyard.”
—Anonymous, 37, F, Houston, TX
16. “I’m a marketing manager. I pay $1,900 for a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom townhouse apartment.”
—Anonymous, 37, female, Houston, TX
17. “I’m an attorney. I pay $1,475 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house. It’s older and is always needing repairs, but it’s nice not being in an apartment.”
—Anonymous, 31, female, TX
18. “I’m a territory sales manager. I pay $1,820 for a one-bedroom.”
—Anonymous, 41, female, Austin, TX
19. “I’m in the armed forces. I pay $4,000 a month for a three-bedroom townhouse.”
—Anonymous, 44, female, Alexandria, VA
20. “I’m a research technician. I just moved from Columbus, Ohio, where the rent for a one-bedroom apartment in a nicer suburb was $ 1,100 per month. I am now in a small town in Massachusetts and pay $1,800 for a two-bedroom. Most of the one-bedroom apartments I looked at were priced at $1,700 or more, and studios were priced at $1,500 or more. I thought my rent was getting kind of expensive back in Ohio until I moved…Now I miss my $1,100 rent.”
—Anonymous, 25 female, Worcester, MA
21. “I work as a radio producer/DJ. I pay $1,650/month, excluding utilities, so it comes out to about $1,900.”
—Anonymous, 29, male, Boston, MA
22. “I work in management. I pay $3,350/month for a two-bedroom apartment that is 825-square-feet.”
—Anonymous, 59, female, Cambridge, MA
23. “I’m an EMT. I pay $1,250 for my room in my house. We have a driveway, yard, laundry facilities, and a dishwasher! I do live in a three-bedroom house with one roommate because the third bedroom is tiny. I have the master, so she pays $ 1,050 for her room. We’re in a great location and hit the landlord lottery. He’s the best!”
—Anonymous, 29, female, Flagstaff, AZ
24. “I’m a teacher. I mortgage a three-bedroom, two-bath for $1,300/mo.”
—Anonymous, Sierra Foothills, CA
25. “I’m an office manager. I split $1,900 a month with two other people for a three-bedroom apartment. This is insanely cheap for a California ski town.”
—Anonymous, 27, female, Mammoth Lakes, CA
26. “I’m an event manager and performer. I am VERY lucky at the moment, but terrified every bloody day that it’s all going to fall apart just like *that.* I pay $800/mo for a studio that’s roughly 350 sq. ft. The only way this is possible in LA is because I’m living in a little duplex in the backyard of a friend’s mum’s house. Said friend lives below me in a larger studio, and we are both scared that his mum might decide to sell the house, and we’ll both be screwed. I’ve been dealing with intermittent disability since getting COVID in 2020, so I’m financially ruined, have a horrible credit score because of medical debt, and I have no idea how to leave my current job that is no longer year-round, because I don’t trust that another employer would actually accommodate my illness/pain issues.”
—Anonymous, 39, femme, Los Angeles, CA
27. “I’m an insurance agent. I pay $2,000 for a small one-bedroom apartment with no heat or AC.”
—Anonymous, 57, female, CA
28. “I’m a librarian. I pay $1,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home on the edge of town. That’s dirt cheap for this area, but the landlords are really great.”
—Anonymous, 55, female, New Mexico
29. “I’m a client services agent. I pay $1,850 for a 750-square-foot one-bedroom, shared with husband and cat.”
—Anonymous, Brooklyn, NY
30. “I’m an accountant, and my husband works in finance. Our rent just increased to $3,900. We live in a two-bed, two-bath in Long Island City, Queens. My husband pays the rent.”
—Anonymous, 27, female, NYC
31. “I’m a school secretary. I pay $1,400 a month for a dated, 1970s-era basement apartment. The sewage has come up through the shower drain three times in one year.”
—Anonymous, 23, female, Northern Colorado
32. “I’m a legal practice assistant. I live in the urban core of Denver, in a walkable neighborhood that is a 15-minute drive to my office. I pay $1,715/month for a 490-square-foot one-bedroom apartment, and it’s the most expensive unit in the building because it’s located on the top floor, a corner unit. What I pay isn’t actually that bad for the location, and while the apartment itself isn’t terrible, the building is sh*tty, and I live two blocks from a fire station, so I hear sirens all night. My AC is a wall unit in the living room, so I have to use a portable AC in my bedroom in the summer, and I don’t have a private outdoor living space (like a patio or balcony). When my lease is up, I will have lived there for over two years, and I will be moving outside of the urban core for a quieter suburb with less traffic closer to the mountains.”
—Anonymous, 40, female
33. “I’m a grad student. I pay $1,400 a month in central Washington State for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment.”
—Anonymous
34. “I’m a licensed vet tech. I pay $1,200, not including utilities, for a 350-square-foot apartment on Capitol Hill in Seattle. This is considered a VERY CHEAP apartment for the area.”
—Anonymous, 38, Seattle, WA
35. “I’m a therapist. I pay $2,550 a month for a three-bedroom condo.”
—Anonymous, 52, Lynnwood, WA
36. “I work in medical device sales. I pay $2,500/month for my husband and me in a three-bedroom single-family home with our two dogs. We lucked out into renting directly from the homeowners, who live a few miles away and are very helpful and easy to deal with (as opposed to renting from a corporation).”
—Anonymous, 36, female, Orlando, FL
37. “I’m an archivist. I pay $1,100 for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit in a small city. It’s overpriced for the age of the building, but it’s in a decent location. A big plus for me is that it’s not visible from the road, so nobody knows it’s there. And a big thing for me is that it has in-unit laundry (and I don’t pay for water, garbage, or sewer. I only pay for electricity and internet/cable).”
—Anonymous, 40, female, Illinois
38. “I’m a retail salesperson. I pay $725 for a two-bedroom, one bath, 825-square-foot apartment.”
—Anonymous, 25, female, Southern IL
39. “I work in quality assurance. I pay $1,000/mo for a one-bedroom.”
—Anonymous, 39, female, Tulsa, Oklahoma
40. “I’m a grants manager. I pay $2,410 for a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom townhouse.”
—Anonymous, Female, 30, Bloomington, IN
41. And finally, “I’m a full-time student, my husband is a postal worker, and we have one child. We pay approximately $1,300 for our mortgage. The house is a three-bedroom, one-bath, and we purchased it in 2019. I’m grateful we purchased before COVID because we would have never been able to afford a home now. I believe we paid $153,000 for the house, and it’s now worth approximately $100,000 more. “
—Anonymous, 38, female, Detroit, MI
Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
How much do you pay for rent? What’s your job? How much money do you make? Share with us as much information as you want! Let us know in the comments, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, submit your information in the form below.
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