Where $1,500 in rent gets you the most—and least—space in major U.S. cities

How much space you can get for a monthly rent payment of $1,500 depends entirely on where you live.

In Manhattan, New York, it’s an average of 216 square feet — roughly the size of a bedroom. But in Wichita, Kansas, the same amount will get you an average of 1,329 square feet — enough for a multi-room apartment or even a modest house, according to RentCafe.

The rankings are based on average rent and apartment size data for March 2025, from real estate data platform Yardi Matrix, which is operated by the same parent company as RentCafe. The ranking used U.S. Census Bureau estimates to define the 100 most populous cities in the contiguous U.S.

Here are the 10 markets where renters get the least space, on average, for $1,500 a month:

The most expensive rental markets tend to be large coastal cities where demand for housing far exceeds supply. Strict zoning laws, limited new construction and a longstanding shortage of affordable housing has led to smaller, costly apartments in places like New York and San Francisco.