NYC landlords were caught renting out 'micro rooms' for $600 a month. Here are 7 places in the US where you can legally rent an apartment for that much - or less.

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Three of the areas that made the list are in Pennsylvania, including Johnstown (pictured above).

• In August, two Manhattan landlords were caught renting out illegal micro-apartments for $600 a month.
• Zillow provided Business Insider with a list of 36 US cities where you can legally rent an actual apartment for that much (or less).
• Of those 36 cities, Business Insider narrowed it down to a list of the largest seven, in terms of population.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In August, two Manhattan landlords were caught renting out illegal sub-units with no windows, sprinklers, or fire-safety systems. In one of the illegal apartments, the ceilings were reported to be just 4.5 to 6 feet tall.

Gothamist reports that the tiny spaces were being rented out for $600 a month.

Read more: A Manhattan landlord is facing nearly $145,000 in fines for splitting up a condo horizontally to build 9 illegal micro-units that resemble a scene in 'Being John Malkovich'

Given that New York City is home to one of America's most expensive rental markets, it's no surprise that even illegal micro-apartments will cost renters a pretty penny. In fact, one year's worth of the average legal rent in Manhattan ($2,980 for a one-bedroom, as of June 2019) is more than three-quarters of the country's average annual salary, which is $47,060.

But not every American city is this outrageously expensive.

With the help of Zillow, Business Insider compiled a list of cities where you can legally rent a real apartment - windows included! - for less than $600 a month. Of the 36 cities Zillow provided, Business Insider has listed the seven largest in terms of population. Population data for each city was collected from Niche, a ranking and review site.

Keep reading for a list of places in the US where the median monthly rent is less than $600, ranked from the most to the least expensive.