With Sex and the City streaming free on Netflix right now, a new generation of viewers marvel at how a freelance columnist can wine and dine so lavishly and afford a Manhattan apartment with a walk-in closet—full of couture and designer shoes. That’s Carrie Bradshaw, whose sexual exploits pale in comparison to her feats of budgeting. How does Carrie do it, and is it realistic? That’s a question addressed in the second annual Carrie Bradshaw Index, a study which looks at which American cities Americans can afford to live solo in 2024, as reported by The Economist.
The index looks at 100 of our major urban centers, using the rule that renters shouldn’t have to spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on their 50th-floor penthouse suite (or, tiny basement studio, as the case may be). Using median rent prices from Zumper, the index determined the minimum salary to afford a “typical studio apartment” in each city, admittedly a wide range and with—surprise, yawn—New York as the most expensive. In New York, renters like the fictional Carrie have to pay . . . wait for it . . . $147,000 a year to live alone without forking over more than 30 percent of their salary. So, you do the math to figure out what your annual gross income has to be (we all knew Carrie must have a secret side gig the show doesn’t divulge).
But in a city like El Paso, TX, you could pay a much more attractive $825 a month for a studio. But in that city, the local median wage is $36,000. That doesn’t leave much space for picking up a crocodile diamond Birkin.
In 2023’s index, only 38 out of the 100 cities were affordable for "Carrie." This year? It’s 62, because in many cities rents have fallen as wages have increased. More apartments are being built, and the supply is more than the demand: hence, we can have that apartment to type out our musings on relationships without a roommate asking us to turn down the music.
The top four cities that don’t meet the Carrie Bradshaw affordability limit:
1. New York, NY
2. Charleston, SC
3. Jersey City, NJ
4. Miami, FL
And here are the top three cities that do:
1. Wichita, KS
2. Akron, OH
3. Baton Rouge, LA