Carrie Bradshaw Index: Solo Living Affordability

Purpose of the Index: The Carrie Bradshaw Index ranks 100 major U.S. cities by how affordable

it is for one person to live alone, based on the idea that rent should not exceed 30% of

a person’s income. How It’s Measured: Using rental data from Zumper, the index calculates

the salary needed to afford a typical studio apartment and compares it to each city’s median

wage. A “Bradshaw score” above 1 means the average person can afford to live alone.

A score below 1 means solo living is unaffordable. Overall Trend: Living alone in

the U.S. has become harder. In the newest ranking, 41 cities were unaffordable, up from 38 the previous

year. Rising Costs in the South and Texas: Cities like Houston, Dallas,