PROVIDENCE — Ocean State residents pay among the highest rents in the U.S. relative to their incomes, according to a new report released by Forbes Home.
The report, which draws from 2021 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development data, ranked Rhode Island eighth in the country for states spending the most on rent.
According to the report, Rhode Islanders earned an average annual salary of $64,376, or $5,365 monthly. With the state’s average monthly rental rate at $1,359, residents spend 25.33% of their income on rent.
Rhode Island placed as second highest state in New England, behind Massachusetts, which took fourth place. Bay State residents had an average annual income of $83,653, or $6,971 monthly. Massachusetts residents spend $1,823 toward rent on average, the report found, or 26.15% of their incomes.
No other New England states made the top ten.
Many of the states with the highest rent spending were also states that Forbes Home ranked as top moving destinations in 2021 and 2022, the report notes, though neither Rhode Island nor Massachusetts made the top 10 in those studies.
In contrast to this general finding, Forbes ranked Massachusetts as the fifth-highest in people moving out of state.
Hawaii, California and New Jersey took the top three spots in the study, with residents of these states spending an average of 42.06%, 28.47% and 27.5% of rent, respectively.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
