Share An Apartment With A Roommate And Pocket $7k Yearly In Rent Savings

For Millennials who want to live in pricey Little Italy (pictured), sharing an apartment with a roommate could make it easier.

San Diego renters could save $6,768 in rent annually, or $564/month, by sharing an apartment with a roommate, according to a new study by SmartAsset, a personal finance website. The study ranked 50 of the largest US cities by how much a tenant could save with a roommate. San Diego ranked seventh nationally, ahead of Los Angeles ($558/month), Long Beach ($554/month) and Portland ($546/month). San Francisco and New York City represented the greatest savings for sharing with a roommate, $1,106 and $1,030/month, respectively, while sharing in Tucson saves the least, just $187/month.

SmartAsset calculated SD’s savings with a roommate on an average rent of $1,696 for a one-bedroom and $2,264 for two bedrooms. The study used September 2016 rental data on myapartmentmap.com for each market, comparing rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments. It assumed roommates would split rent 50-50 on a two-bedroom unit. Studio apartments were not included in the study.

The study’s rent figures may be a little high, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune report, as a survey of 131,287 apartments by MarketPointe Realty Advisors in September calculated average for a one-bedroom at $1,533 and $1,821 for two bedrooms.

The study’s key advice for renters:

— Don’t live alone on the West Coast, as renters stand to save thousands of dollars yearly by splitting a two-bedroom apartment, particularly in California.

— Singles who don’t want to deal with a roommate could better live alone in the Southwest, as sharing an apartment won’t save much in less expensive markets like Tucson and El Paso.