San Antonio is one of the least affordable U.S. cities for renters, new report finds

Once trumpeted for its affordable cost of living, San Antonio is now among the 10 least affordable U.S. cities for renters, according to new research from Online Mortgage Advisor.

The broker-matching website's "Priced Out Property 2022" report puts the Alamo City at No. 10 in the nation when it comes to growth in the percentage of an average resident's salary that goes to paying rent.

In 2017, average monthly rents in SA consumed 29% of the average monthly salary of a local worker. That amount jumped by 2.6% in 2021, hitting 32%.

Even so, that's modest hike compared to the Boise, Idaho, which topped the list. There, the percentage of salary required to pay rent increased by 21.7% over the same five-year period.

A dearth of new affordable housing has plagued metros across the country, driving up rental costs and stretching household finances. Between 2017 and 2021, 48% of the cities in the "Priced Out Property" study became less affordable for renters.

Indeed, nearly half of the nation's 41 million renters spend 30% or more of their annual income on housing, a condition that advocates refer to as being "housing-cost burdened," according to U.S. Census data.

The new study hits the streets as the city of San Antonio's Emergency Housing Assistance Program, designed to help financially strapped residents stay in their homes, approaches its March 1 closure date.

Likewise, the San Antonio Housing Authority is preparing to wind down its two-year-old eviction moratorium. More than 4,000 families now face possible eviction by the end of the month, according to a KSAT report.

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