The salary you need to comfortably afford a 2-bedroom apartment in the 25 biggest US cities

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Four cities in California made the list.

• SmartAsset found what income is needed to comfortably afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment in 25 cities across the US.
• The study calculated how much a renter would need to earn to spend no more than 28% of their annual income on rent.
• In seven cities, renters need to earn more than $100,000.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in New York City is more than double the cost of rent in Denver, Colorado.

It's clear that depending on where in the United States you live, rent may take up a bigger portion of your income.

SmartAsset found what income is needed to comfortably afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment in 25 cities across the US. Comfortably, in this case, means spending no more than 28% of annual salary. The data on average apartment costs came from RentCafe.com and is from June 2018.

To be clear, 28% is just a benchmark and is actually lower than the 30% budget many experts recommend. In some cities with expensive housing markets, that figure can be higher. Though you can cut costs by pairing up with a roommate and splitting the rent.

Below are the top 25 cities with rent costs for a two-bedroom apartment and the annual income you'll need (before taxes) to comfortably afford rent there.