Want to pay your student loans? Don’t move to one of these cities

When many college students graduate, they’re tempted by the thought of moving to a big, exciting city.

Indeed, cities like New York and San Francisco provide many opportunities for work and play, so it’s unsurprising that they tend to attract hungry, eager young adults.

But they’re also some of the most expensive cities in which to rent an apartment.

Rent payments rising for most Americans

Many financial experts say you shouldn’t spend more than 30 percent of your income on housing, but for most graduates living in big cities, rent is their biggest expense. That’s why they often struggle to make other payments, like student loans.

And they’re not alone–overall, more Americans are paying at least that amount to afford a place to live.

While bigger cities can offer the opportunity to make more money than you would in a smaller city, it doesn’t matter if your rent is eating up the majority of your income and you can’t afford your other expenses.

These new charts from Mother Jones show the average cost to rent a two-bedroom apartment in 25 US metropolitan areas, based on data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Big cities tend to have higher average rental prices, which makes it difficult college graduates living in these places to afford their student loan payments.

Affording your student loans

If you want to have more room to pay your student loans and other expenses, consider cities toward the bottom of the list (assuming you can find a job that pays well enough there).

But there are plenty of other cities that are even more affordable for college graduates, offering good job prospects and low expenses. For more, check out our post on the top medium-sized cities for college graduates.

And if you already struggle to pay your student loans, give us a call at 1-888-234-3907 or contact us here to find out how we can help your reduce your payments and get on a more manageable repayment schedule.