I currently rent in smith hill and surprisingly don’t get hammered with rent lol. I pay $1600 a month with all utilities covered and only pay for my wifi, pretty lucky deal

I think drawing conclusions from only 3 datapoints is misleading, especially in 2022 when we have the ability quantify & model more aspects of life than ever before.

There are many other important urban geography factors such as the city’s total area, style of sprawl, natural resources, and infrastructure (public sector & private industry) — not to mention social/cultural factors and surrounding areas.

I would use principle component analysis to get a better picture of US Cities’ relative rent prices, because a basic smell test should tell you that Providence isn’t really the “4th most expensive city for rent” in the US.

What a fucked up time line that $1600/mo with utilities is a good deal. I don't think we'll ever see rents in the triple digits again around here, at least aside from some of the worst spots.

Esp with the recent elec hike!

important to note also that this is rent compared with household income. our rents are high, but where other cities with high rents have higher paying jobs, our jobs have continued paying low wages.

Am I reading this chart wrong or is it saying median rent for a 1 vs 2 bedroom is only a $50 difference?

Wait, why is there no data for the Bay Area (CA)?

I love seeing people comment on how things used to be cheaper.

It’s almost like you want these prices: https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/20sfood.html

Which is fine by me, just don’t get upset if you’re hourly wage is $0.75 and the children are back where they belong, the factories.

Prices will always increase. Every year, every decade.

Because the median income is around $130,000. This is compared to 81k for boston and Providence at.....55k lol. According to google, median 1 bedroom in SF is around 3k (again just all google quick results) but salary median being nearly 2.5x compared to here.

This has always been the case. I'd say 2018-ish there was an article about how 1 to 2 bedrooms are within about $100 of each other here. The price wasn't this bad, but the range has always been extremely narrow.

People are arguing about the methodology, but this is the big takeaway. The salaries here are low and the rents are astronomical (and this is not historically the case here pre-pandemic). Not everyone can work remotely in six figure jobs-- a lot of people work in the state, for the state, or do everyday things to keep the state running. The goal isn't to retrain these people into software engineers because the city still needs janitors, chefs, plumbers, teachers, and nurses to show up in person.

What's weird is conversations on here and in real life either oscillate that Providence is "super cheap" or "unfathomably expensive". I hear both of these things every day and it's hard to believe people in this city are living such different realities based on circumstance.

Providence is going to have some really rough growing pains the next few years that are going to suck for everyone when the working class gets priced out because those people run this city.

I would say wages are starting to increase a little. I’m seeing a great deal of jobs starting at $20 for entry level work, such as Electric Boat, RIPTA, and Toray. I was interviewing around and those were the numbers I was getting. I’m sure in a year or two $20/hr will be the norm for a lot of employers.

Nah

For a 1 Bed?? This isn’t even a good deal lol

then please enlighten me on what a good deal is for a 1 bedroom in the 4th most expensive city per rent, my lease is only one year and i’m not leaving prov next year lol, i’ll take any advice I can get 😂

I don’t think this internet image is accurate whatsoever in saying providence is the 4th most expensive in the country. There is no way it is more expensive then San Fran,LA etc. There are 1beds that pop up in hot pads for $1000-1100 all the time in providence. Of course a few years ago it wasn’t even close.. I lived in a 1 bed on Doyle Ave for $700 a month in 2019. I’m not saying there isn’t worse deals then what you got… I’m just saying it isn’t good. Stay where you’re at if you like it. I’m lucky because my landlady isn’t raising rent but I pay ~$1000 for a 2 bed in prov currently.

Eight years ago, I was renting a 2 bedroom apartment on Wickenden Street for half that. It's crazy to me to see how expensive rent has become in Providence that $1,600 is a good deal.

Lol

Surprised to see Cleveland on here… we’re near Boston. What explains Cleveland?

2019 was pre covid.

No?! It was?? … as I said “I know a few years ago it wasn’t close” I was just making the comparison 😉

It’s not comparable. Covid disrupted rent prices so much here.

Lol.. I’m aware of the massive rent hike that happened after 2020, it wasn’t necessarily covid but sure.

We're more expensive than San Francisco or Washington DC? This seems unlikely to me.