iStock photo illustration

Renters in Boston are not getting a lot of space for their money, even with the most expensive rents in the nation.

According to Redin, a renter on a $2,000-a-month budget can afford an apartment in Greater Boston that is 645 square feet. The average bedroom in the U.S. is roughly 130 square feet.

Renters in the metro area are typically paying $3.10 per square foot. That puts Greater Boston at sixth place among the 46 metro areas Redfin looked at.

Compare that to the national picture, where, an American renter on a $2,000-a-month budget can now afford an apartment that is more than 70 square feet larger than it was in mid-2022.

A renter on a $2,000-a-month budget can afford a 1,103-square-foot apartment according to the report, thanks to a huge wave of apartment completions in many Southern and Western cities that pushed rents down.

“Renters are getting more bang for their buck than they were during the pandemic because asking rents have since stabilized below their record high and incomes have continued to climb,” Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a statement. “Rental affordability has improved thanks to the recent apartment construction boom, especially in Sun Belt states. That trend is likely to continue into 2025, as there are a lot of still-to-be-finished apartment buildings due to come online.”

Just over five years ago in October 2019, the nationwide median asking rent was $1,337, equating to $1.47 per square foot according to Redfin. That means the projected apartment size for a $2,000 budget was 1,359 square feet, 56 square feet larger than today.