San Jose

Survey: Nearly Half of Bay Area Renters Are Struggling to Pay for a Roof Over Their Head

An alarming new report on the Bay Area's skyrocketing housing costs. A survey found nearly half of renters are struggling to pay for a roof over their head.

According to a survey by Apartment list, 25 percent of renters are spending half of what they make on rent, and half of renters are spending a third of what they make.

Let’s take a look at the numbers, see if this is what you’re paying:

Let’s compare Bay Area rent for a two-bedroom apartment:

-- $2,570 in San Jose
-- $2,240 in Oakland
-- 3,080 in San Francisco

For reference rent is $1,730 in Los Angeles, and $2,490 in New York City.

Next Tuesday, the San Jose City Council will vote to amend the apartment rent ordinance.

some of which could cap rent increases to five percent per year, without allowing landlords to “bank” unused increases for use at a later date.

The other option would tie the increases to a regional index.

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