The 10 most (and least) affordable cities for retail workers looking to rent
Retail workers make up roughly of the U.S. workforce, yet retail remains one of the lowest-paying industries in the country. As rents have climbed over the past decade, it鈥檚 become increasingly difficult for people in these jobs to afford a place to live on their own. Add in economic uncertainty, industry-wide , and , and retail workers are getting squeezed from all sides.
This strain shows up clearly in the numbers. Nationwide, the typical retail worker in America earns $34,436 per year鈥52% less than they would need to afford the typical apartment. To close that gap using wages alone, a retail worker would need to work more than 80 hours per week, which is unrealistic for most people.
In fact, there isn鈥檛 a single major metro in the U.S. where the typical retail worker can afford a market-rate rental. The gap is smallest in Cleveland, where workers earn about a third less than they鈥檇 need, and largest in New York, where the gap widens to more than 70%. For this analysis, rentals are considered 鈥渁ffordable鈥 if a renter spends no more than 30% of their income on rent.
So, to pinpoint where renting is easiest (and hardest) for retail workers, ranked U.S. cities by how retail wages compare to the income needed to afford the typical apartment.
The 10 most affordable cities for retail workers looking to rent
Cleveland ranks as the most affordable metro in the country for retail workers, though even there, workers need to earn 33% more to meet the standard affordability benchmark. These are all places with some of the lowest rents in the nation.
鈥淎s the cost of living has increased, so have the sacrifices renters must make to afford a place to live,鈥 said Redfin Chief Economist . 鈥淪ince most retail workers don鈥檛 earn enough to afford the typical apartment, many are opting to share rent with a family member or friend, move far away from their job, or live in a very small space.鈥
It鈥檚 worth noting that many retail workers never actually seek out the typical apartment because it鈥檚 already out of their price range. Even the top 25% of earners still fall 44% short of the income needed to afford a standard rental.
The 10 least affordable cities for retail workers looking to rent
New York is the least affordable city for retail workers, with the wage gap reaching 71%. In general, the least affordable cities for retail workers have the highest rents in the nation, and closely align with the in the nation for homebuying and selling.
While rental affordability for retail workers remains strained, it has improved slightly in recent years, as wages have than rents. The typical retail worker now earns 51.6% less than they would need to afford the typical apartment. That鈥檚 an improvement from the 52% shortfall in October 2024, 54% in October 2023 and 57% in October 2022.
Retail worker wages have been growing at a pace of around 3% year over year, while rents have risen closer to 2%. That鈥檚 a reversal from the pandemic moving frenzy, when rents were climbing much faster than wages. Rent growth has since eased as a surge in new construction has helped vacancies climb, giving landlords less room to raise prices.
Methodology
This is based on a of 2024 wage estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics鈥 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, and October 2025 multifamily rent data from the Zillow Observed Rent Index. Wage data covers workers in the following categories: cashiers, retail salespersons, first-line retail supervisors. All data covers 40 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas.
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