Can we see this taking place\u00a0in today\u2019s major residential markets? And if so, what\u2019s the extent of the housing gap? This is what we set out to discover. Together with our sister company RENTCaf\u00e9<\/a>, we gathered data on home prices and rents across the 50 largest cities in the US and compared them to the average incomes of both genders in each city<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on the industry\u2019s rule of thumb that no more than 30% of monthly income should go to either mortgage payments or rent, we labeled each city as either housing-friendly or unaffordable to single men and women. We also narrowed our definition of \u201chome\u201d to include only starter units \u2013 studios and one-bedroom rentals, condos or houses, as larger homes are beyond\u00a0the budget of all singles almost everywhere we looked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What resulted was a rather bleak picture of the urban housing market for all single people, but especially for women<\/strong>. With single women\u2019s median income considerably lower than that of men in all the cities we looked at, and the trend of real estate prices out-pacing income\u00a0gains<\/a> in recent years, there are a host of cities that are now effectively out of the reach of potential female buyers and renters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To see a full visual of how all the cities fare in terms of both the home-buying and rental markets click here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women still make far less than men in all the cities we looked at, so as home prices rise in urban\u00a0American, single women are the first to get priced out of the market.\u00a0Below, we\u2019ve highlighted the 9\u00a0cities that are now too expensive\u00a0for single women to buy an apartment in, but not for single men.<\/strong> Should the price growth keep ahead of incomes, though, men too will likely find themselves priced out of these cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several cities in Texas have managed to stay affordable to both genders despite the rapid growth in demand and prices of\u00a0the last few years. \u00a0Houston<\/a> and Fort Worth<\/a><\/strong>, however,\u00a0<\/strong>are not among them\u00a0\u2013 women have been left out of the home buying market in these two cities, but men can still make the average monthly payment on a small apartment. For a city like Houston \u2013 that\u2019s already struggling with rising unemployment and a possible recession<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the rising home prices leaving women behind spell out a drag on the city\u2019s future growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast, California is a sea of unaffordable urban homes for both genders. One notable exception is Sacramento<\/a>,<\/strong> where single men would need to spend \u201conly\u201d 25% of their monthly income on the bank payment for an apartment, while the average woman makes less than what she needs in order to secure a bank loan for a new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite reports<\/a> on the market in Chicago<\/a><\/strong> claiming homes are undervalued and prices are far below incomes, our study found that this does not hold true for both genders. In fact, it is out of the reach of most women to live independently in a home they own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it\u2019s not that cheap for men, either, as they spend 27% of their income on mortgage rates, on average. Add other costs associated with homeownership, such as insurance, repairs and improvements, as well as property taxes, single men could be forced to keep a strict eye on their budgets to afford a Chicago starter home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the two largest cities in Tennessee \u2013 Nashville<\/a> <\/strong>and Memphis<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 and in Denver<\/a><\/strong>, single men already feel the burden of housing on their budgets, spending close to 30% on monthly payments, while for single women the typical one-bedroom is already out of reach. The Nashville market has experienced strong gains in 2016, with prices showing no signs of slowing down according to the Nashville Post<\/a>, putting more pressure on would-be buyers of both genders looking to settle in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among these 9\u00a0cities, the biggest difference in the average income between genders was seen in Houston, Fort Worth and Seattle<\/a><\/strong>, ranging from 70 to 73 cents on the dollar for women compared to men. Since single men already spend over 20% of their monthly income on mortgage payments, this difference alone is enough to explain why these cities are now unaffordable to single women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notoriously competitive markets like Manhattan<\/strong><\/a>, Boston<\/a>, Miami<\/a> and most of California<\/strong> have long priced the majority of their residents out of the home market. The monthly payment on a one-bedroom in these hot spots now far exceeds 30% of the average incomes of both single men and single women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once again, Manhattan and LA<\/a> are in a league of their own in terms of mortgage cost \u2013 it actually takes more than the entire monthly income of a single woman to cover the mortgage on a small apartment in these cities, <\/strong>and close to a man\u2019s full salary to do so. Elsewhere, things aren\u2019t much better; for example, the average mortgage payment in Boston or San Francisco<\/a> would take up over 90% of a woman\u2019s income \u2013 and 85% of it in Miami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home prices in Washington<\/a>, Philadelphia<\/a> and Portland<\/a><\/strong> may be significantly lower than in other cities on the two coasts, but here too single residents of both genders now earn too little to be able to afford the average one-bedroom on their own. As for the South, the largest cities to become unaffordable for the single population are New Orleans and Austin<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 the latter, the only Texan city too expensive for men to buy a home in, by a landslide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Curious to see which of these cities are the least affordable for single women looking to buy a home? Take a look below:<\/p>\n\n\n There\u2019s also good news out there. In just over half of the cities we analyzed the average one-bedroom or studio apartment is still affordable for single people of both genders. <\/strong>Even pricey California offers would-be home buyers a refuge in Fresno, where both men and women would have to spend less than 20% of their monthly income on mortgage \u2013 a rate unheard of elsewhere in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Urban Texas fares pretty well, by comparison. Mortgage payments on small apartments in Dallas, El Paso<\/a>, San Antonio<\/a> and Arlington<\/a><\/strong> are within budget for single-person households. However, home prices in Texas have been rising fast over the past year, and Dallas is starting to look extra-costly for single women, who currently have to pay an average of 29% of their income if they wish to own a one-bedroom or studio apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the lowest costs of housing can be found in Wichita and Indianapolis<\/strong> \u2013 single women here pay an average of 10% of their income on mortgage. Several other Midwestern cities give a green light to single women buyers \u2013 Minneapolis<\/a>, Omaha<\/a>, Kansas City<\/a> and Columbus<\/a> \u2013 as do Baltimore<\/a>, Virginia Beach<\/a> and Jacksonville on the East Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlanta<\/a> <\/strong>remains affordable to both genders, though barely \u2013 women pay a full 30% of their income on mortgage. However, the pay gap here is wide, with women making $10,000 less than men on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Las Vegas<\/a><\/strong> and the three largest cities in Arizona \u2013 Phoenix<\/a>, Tucson<\/a> and Mesa<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 also score well on gender equality, and have home prices that are balanced with the income levels of both men and women. As elsewhere, though, the larger the city the higher home prices go, while income doesn\u2019t rise as fast \u2013 therefore, residents of Phoenix and Las Vegas pay proportionally more on housing than those living in smaller cities, whatever their gender. One finding of our joint study with RENTCaf\u00e9 reinforces what\u2019s becoming the norm in America:\u00a0it is much harder for the average person to rent a home in most of these cities than it is to buy \u2013 and singles are no exception. Provided that they manage to save up for the down payment, single men can afford to pay the mortgage on a typical one-bedroom apartment or studio in 35\u00a0of the 50 cities we analyzed. When it comes to renting, however, men can afford to rent the same type of apartment in only 18 cities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the female single population, it\u2019s in fact much worse. Only 2 of the 50 cities \u2013 Wichita, KS<\/a> and Tulsa, OK<\/a> \u2013 haven\u2019t locked women out of renting a one-bedroom on their own. <\/strong>Apartments for rent in Sacramento<\/a>, Seattle, or Chicago are too expensive for either genders to rent.\u00a0And in one final bout of irony, the only cities where rents are cheaper than mortgage payments \u2013 Austin, New Orleans, San Francisco, LA and Manhattan \u2013 are also too expensive for singles to buy OR <\/strong>rent in, anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full scoop on the renting gender gap over at RENTCaf\u00e9<\/a> and find out how rents fare in your city.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n9\u00a0cities keep single ladies off the home buying market, but not men<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"9](\"http:\/\/www.propertyshark.com\/Real-Estate-Reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/98\/2017\/02\/9-cities_single-man-BUY-1.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>14 cities have priced out all singles looking to buy a home<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"14](\"http:\/\/www.propertyshark.com\/Real-Estate-Reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/98\/2017\/02\/14-cities-no-singles-can-BUY-1.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"top](\"http:\/\/www.propertyshark.com\/Real-Estate-Reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/98\/2017\/02\/top-10-least-affordable-cities-WOMEN.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/span>The best cities to buy in for both genders<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n![\"top](\"http:\/\/www.propertyshark.com\/Real-Estate-Reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/98\/2017\/02\/top-10-most-affordable-cities-WOMEN.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nRenting market fares much worse \u2013 only 2 cities affordable for single-women renters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Gender](\"http:\/\/www.propertyshark.com\/Real-Estate-Reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/98\/2017\/01\/Gender-Gap-Infographic_BUY_Rent.png\")
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