California cities where having roommates save the most money

LOS ANGELES - It's no secret the cost of living in California is crazy expensive. If you need a reminder, California’s cost-of-living has gotten so expensive that a six-figure household income is barely "middle class" in most parts of the state. 

As rents continue to rise, many people are turning to roommates to afford living in some cities more than others. 

Researchers at brokerage company RentHop analyzed how much a person could save when moving into a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate across the United States' top 100 cities.

An apartment for rent sign is posted in South Pasadena, California on October 19, 2022. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

In California, you'll save the most money in San Francisco (ranked No. 5 nationally) where a median 2-bedroom will cost you around $4,095. By moving into a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate, a person would reduce their rent to roughly $2,048 per person, saving around $953 monthly.

You'll save the least money in Stockton, where the median 2-bedroom rent is $1,550. Monthly rent per roommate there is $775, with an average monthly savings of $420.

Los Angeles ranked No. 49 in the overall list. Median 2-bedroom rent there was calculated at $3,195. By moving into a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate, a person would reduce their rent to roughly $1,598. That equals to monthly savings of $503, the study found.

Those moving to New York City with a roommate will experience the most savings in the country. According to RentHop, a one-bedroom unit goes for, on average, $3,950. Two-bedroom monthly rents in New York City average $5,295, roughly $2,648 per person. That means renters would save roughly $1,303 per month.

To get these results, RentHop analyzed rent for a person in a one-bedroom apartment vs. sharing a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate. The median one-bedroom and two-bedroom rents are calculated based on RentHop listings created between August 2022 and January 2023. Only unfurnished units were included in the analysis.