How Much the Middle Class Paid for Rent in the ’90s Compared to Now

Many middle-class wage earners want to loosen the financial squeeze on their rent payments. Living costs have increased over the past 30 years, and rental prices are no exception. In 1990, the median monthly rent for an unfurnished apartment in the U.S. was $600 — compared to substantial $1,837 in Q1 of 2023.

In recent years, renting has become more common among the middle class, and rising rental costs make it difficult for some Americans to find an affordable apartment. Here’s a closer look at how rent has inflated since the ’90s .

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Who Are the Middle Class?

According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 73% of Americans identified as middle class or working class. The results of a Washington Post survey listed these criteria for those who considered themselves middle class:

• Have job security, regular savings and emergency savings
• Own a home and take vacations
• Have health insurance and paid sick leave
• Able to pay monthly bills and comfortably retire

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that in 2023, the median annual income was about $59,540, approximately $1,145 per week. The annual median lower income was $39,693, and the median upper income was $119,080. In 1993, the median household income was $31,241.

Realistically, Americans must make about $120,000 annually to live comfortably as middle class and qualify to purchase a home. The housing and rental markets have greatly shifted the goalposts since the 1990s. Depending on your location, even a $120,000 annual salary might not be enough to live on, especially if you have children and are in debt.

For You: Here’s How Much the Definition of Middle Class Has Changed in Every State

Rent Prices and Inflation

The average rent for a 699-square-foot apartment in the U.S. is $1,517 monthly, a 0.6% increase since last year. North Dakota, Mississippi and Vermont have the highest rental rate increases.

West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arkansas have the lowest apartment rental prices in the U.S.

An apartment rented for $1,000 in 1994 would cost $2,690.32 per month in 2024 for an equivalent space. Rental prices are 169% higher in 2024 than 30 years earlier, an approximately $1,690 difference in value. Overall inflation during this period was 2.50% per year, but the average rental inflation rate was higher, at 3.35% per year.

Rent Has Outpaced Wages

In 2022, approximately 22.4 million renters spent more than 30% of their household income on rent and utilities. Although rental markets are trending downward in 2024, evictions, homelessness and the need for rental assistance are rising.

Rent costs have outpaced incomes since the pandemic, and rental affordability has been in crisis for decades. In 1996, the national minimum wage was $4.25 per hour and the average U.S. weekly salary was $536 in 1995. Meanwhile, the median monthly rent around the same time was $374. Salaries have risen somewhat recently, but rental prices have soared even higher in most cities. Between 2019 and 2023, incomes grew 20.2%, while rent costs skyrocketed 30.4% across 44 of the 50 largest metropolitan U.S. cities.

This leads to frustration among middle-class families who see inflation gobbling up their paychecks. Florida has seen the highest jump in rental rates at 50% since 2019, while Floridians’ salaries only increased by 15.3%. This is the country’s largest gap between rent and wages compared to any other state.

The Impact of High Rental Prices on the Middle Class

Half of all renter households spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, so their budgets are stretched to the max, causing financial stress. A 2022 Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies report stated that renters spend 60% to 70% of their income on housing costs. To get relief, they reduce and cut expenses from their budget, such as entertainment, gas and groceries. Some respondents considered moving into a double-wide trailer for about $650 a month or subleasing a room in their apartment to cut costs.

Pop Culture and Rising Rent Rent Prices

In the popular late 1990s television show “Sex and the City,” the character Carrie Bradshaw earned about $60,000 to $70,000 a year as a magazine columnist and paid about $1,000 per month for her New York City West Village studio apartment. Today, an apartment like that would cost around $3,000 to $4,000 monthly. Carrie would still make around $64,000 a year and probably have to get a roommate to help pay the rent.

The sitcom “Living Single” featured three roommates — a magazine editor, a retail buyer and an administrative assistant — who earned a combined salary of about $131,000 in Brooklyn, New York, in 1997. Their three-bedroom apartment would have cost between $900 and $1,400 per month, about 13% of their income. In 2021, their combined salaries would have been around $193,000, and their apartment would run about $3,900 per month, costing approximately 24% of their income.

Ways To Ease the Squeeze

Life is much more expensive today than in the 1990s. If you earn a middle-class income and feel that you’re struggling to pay rent and other living expenses, there are things you can do to not feel like you’re drowning.

• Give yourself a break . You don’t have to be perfect with your money all the time. If you can afford it, fit some small luxuries into your life rather than focusing only on getting ahead financially.
• Keep an excellent credit score . Keep your creditworthiness high so you can become a homeowner sooner and decrease your time as a renter.
• Consider relocating. Moving to a city with a lower cost of living could lessen your rent and other living expenses.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : How Much the Middle Class Paid for Rent in the ’90s Compared to Now