Is Wichita affordable for single renters? This report says it’s the top city in the US

If you’re a single renter looking for more affordable cities to live in, you may want to take a close look at Kansas.

According to a report by apartment rental company RentHop, Wichita was ranked the most affordable city for a single renter in the U.S. The company conducted the December report by measuring median nonfamily household incomes, city population counts, advertised prices for studio apartments and year-over-year changes to studio prices.

The median cost of a studio apartment in the Air Capital is $565 a month, Renthop says in the report, meaning the average person would have to spend 17.65% of their annual income on rent every year.

For comparison, New York City is the most expensive place for single renters, according to Renthop, with residents having to spend about 71% of their annual income on rent in the city.

According to a separate report from GoBankingRates, the average single person in Kansas needs to make $47,379 annually to live comfortably, which would make the state sixth in the country for lowest living wage.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports the median household income in Wichita (in 2022 dollars) is $60,712. The poverty rate in the city sits at 15.5%.

While Wichita may have been named the most affordable city by RentHop, the cost of rent is rising across the U.S., including locally. A report from late 2022 from NAI Martens indicates rent prices in Wichita rose 1.8% in 2022 and 9.4% in 2021.

According to data from rental site ApartmentList, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the area sits at $791 in January, while a two-bedroom is a median of more than $1,000. A quick look at another site, Apartments.com, shows studio apartments ranging from $420 to more than $1,000.

Renthop’s ‘most affordable’ cities for single renters

Following closely behind Wichita in affordability for single renters is Minneapolis, the December report found.

According to RentHop, the five most affordable cities for single renters across the country are:

1. Wichita, Kan. (Median studio apartment: $565; renters spend 17.65% of salary on rent)
2. Minneapolis, Minn. (Median studio apartment: $929; renters spend 20.43% of salary on rent)
3. Colorado Springs, Colo. (Median studio apartment: $910; renters spend 20.53% of salary on rent)
4. Seattle, Wash. (Median studio apartment: $1,450; renters spend 20.90% of salary on rent)
5. Columbus, Ohio (Median studio apartment: $850; renters spend 20.92% of salary on rent)

RentCafe’s top cities to watch in 2024

In addition to being named RentHop’s most affordable city for single renters, Wichita was also named one of top renting cities to watch in 2024 by another apartment real estate company.

Wichita took 29th place in RentCafe’s 30 top cities to watch, ranking right above Birmingham, Ala., and right below Chandler, Ariz. Atlanta took the top spot, followed closely by the Missouri side of Kansas City.

This list was put together after monitoring the most active renting markets in the U.S. over the course of one year.

The top five cities to watch in 2024 are, according to RentCafe:

1. Atlanta, Ga.
2. Kansas City, Mo.
3. Cincinnati, Ohio
4. Arlington, Va.
5. Orlando, Fla.

Lindsay Smith

The Wichita Eagle

Lindsay Smith is a suburban news reporter for the Wichita Eagle, covering the communities of Andover, Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville and Kechi. She has been on The Eagle staff since 2022 and was the service journalism reporter for three years. She has a degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from Wichita State, where she was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Sunflower, for two years. You can reach her via email at lsmith@wichitaeagle.com.