Miami Has the Most Cost-Burdened Renters in America

The old golden rule is that you're not supposed to spend more than a third of your income on rent, but for many Americans, that's just not possible anymore. In 1960, only 24 percent of Americans were paying more than that. By 2000, that number had reached 30 percent. As of 2014, that number is now 52 percent nationwide. 

The story is much worse in Miami. According to a new analysis from Apartment List, 66.2 percent of Miamians are paying more than they can afford in rent. That's two out of every three residents here. 

Of the country's 50 largest cities, none has as many cost-burdened renters as Miami does. 

The reason? Well, most jobs in Miami just don't pay that well. 

San Francisco, for example, has some of the most expensive rents in the nation and are far higher than Miami's. Yet, of the 50 cities analyzed, San Francisco has the least amount of cost-burden renters. Why? Because people, on average, make a whole lot more than they do in Miami. 

The situation doesn't appear to be getting any better either. Apartment List has data dating back to 2007, and Miami has been in the top three cities with most cost-burdened renters every single year and topped the list in four of those years. Detroit comes in second this year with 65.3 percent of renters there being cost-burdened. 

New condos continue to pop up in Miami at a record pace, but most are selling at high prices and marketed specifically toward wealthy locals or out-of-town (or, most likely, foreign) one-percenters who are looking for investment properties more than a place to actually live.