How much is the luxury of living alone worth? In Philadelphia, it’s about $6,200, on average.
That’s how much more a year the city’s solo renters pay for a one-bedroom apartment, compared with the price that two people would each pay splitting the rent, according to an /zillow.mediaroom.com/2024-02-12-Renting-alone-The-singles-tax-now-exceeds-7,000">analysis of 2023 rents by Zillow. The higher price for solo renters is referred to as a “singles tax.”
The $6,185 price tag for solitude is about the same — $41 less — /www.inquirer.com/real-estate/single-renters-philadelphia-pay-more-one-bedroom-savings-20230214.html">compared with the previous year.
Philadelphia renters pay a smaller premium for solo living than renters in many other big cities and the country as a whole. The national “singles tax” is about $7,100.
Philadelphia’s rents are relatively affordable compared with rents in other big cities. But Philadelphians’/www.inquirer.com/real-estate/housing/low-income-philadelphia-house-rent-pew-charitable-trusts-20200910.html"> low incomes can make paying for housing difficult and /www.inquirer.com/real-estate/housing/affordable-housing-philadelphia-families-living-together-fire-20220111.html">force residents to double up, even if they would rather not.
Renters who might be able to afford to live alone weigh the freedom of living without a roommate against the extra money they will have to shell out for their sanctuary.
It’s unsurprising that New York has the biggest “singles tax.” Solo renters there pay $20,100 more a year for a one-bedroom. With the total rent they pay, they could rent two apartments in Philadelphia.
Of the country’s 50 biggest cities, 31 have a bigger “singles tax” than Philadelphia. New York is one of seven cities in which solo renters pay more than $10,000 more a year. San Francisco has the second highest singles tax at more than $13,400.
Louisville, Ky.; Kansas City, Mo.; Fresno, Calif.; San Antonio, Texas; and Baltimore are among the cities where, like Philadelphia, solo renters pay a yearly premium of $6,000 to $6,250 for living alone.
Of the 50 largest cities, solo renters in Detroit pay the lowest premium per year — about $4,300 — to live alone. Buffalo, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee round out the bottom five.
Zillow used a combination of data from the Census Bureau and from its own website to look at average rents in 2023 for one-bedroom rentals.