Santa Cruz County Takes Top Spot for Highest Rent in the US

Santa Cruz County in California has overtaken San Francisco as the most expensive market in the US for renters, according to the 2023 Out of Reach Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The report found that nearly 50% of workers in the US cannot afford a modest one-bedroom rental home at fair market rent while working one full-time job, and 60% cannot afford a two-bedroom rental home. The authors of the report recommend that the federal government invest more resources in both building more affordable housing and in assisting low-wage renters directly.