Gen Zers in San Antonio will spend nearly $130,000 in rent by age 30, study finds

On average, Gen Zers will spend more on rent during their 20s than Millennials did, the study found.

click to enlarge Although apartment buildings similar to the one above are going up all around San Antonio, they remain out of reach for Gen Z. - Unsplash / Sigmund
Unsplash / Sigmund
Although apartment buildings similar to the one above are going up all around San Antonio, they remain out of reach for Gen Z.
San Antonio residents born between 1994 and 2000 — we're talking to you, Gen Z — will spend $128,637 in rent before they turn 30, according to a study published last month by online rental marketplace RentCafe.

While that may seem like a shockingly high number, it makes more sense when it's broken down in increments — which is to say the average Gen Z Alamo City resident will spend $1,340.34 monthly on rent between the ages of 22-29.

That's still more than Millennials spent on rent when they were that age, putting Gen Zers at a disadvantage for collecting savings and buying big-ticket items. According to RentCafe, Millennials spent only $1,172 on rent by the time they were 30 years old. Worse, that number is adjusted for inflation.

RentCafe's data was calculated based on an eight-year period for each generation to determine the average amount of money each spent on average for rent across major U.S. cities.

The astonishingly high cost of rent for Gen Zers, who only earn about $35,000 annually in Texas, could be why 31% live with their parents, according to the study.

Even so, San Antonio remains among the most affordable cities in the U.S. for Gen Z renters.

Rent in San Antonio was lower than the U.S. average, so nationwide, Gen Zers can expect to spend $145,000 rent by the time they reach 30. The cost of rent in the Alamo City was also less than in Austin, Dallas and Houston, according to RentCafe.

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Michael Karlis

Michael Karlis is a Staff Writer at the San Antonio Current. He is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., whose work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Orlando Weekly, NewsBreak, 420 Magazine and Mexico Travel Today. He reports primarily on breaking news, politics...

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