Report: DC Area Renters Save 34% By Living With Significant Other

• February 10th 2014

by Lark Turner

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so here’s a topic of conversation to deploy over flowers: How much rent could you save by moving in with your significant other?

Trulia ran the numbers for metropolitan areas across the country, and concluded that in some places, couples could save as much as 40 percent a month by dumping their one-bedroom apartment for a two-bedroom rental. Even moving up to a three-bedroom could still glean a couple as much as 20 percent in monthly savings.

The study, conducted by chief economist Jed Kolko, compared rentals in the same building to control for outside factors like amenities and location. The DC area ranked 18th among cost-saving move-ins around the country. Here are how the numbers shook out in the region:

• Ditching the one-bedrooms for a two-bedroom rental would result in 34 percent in monthly savings for a couple.
• If the couple decided to skip a two-bedroom for a three-bedroom apartment, they would still save 15 percent a month.

Here’s how the numbers looked in different metros across the country:

The Sacramento area led the way with 40 percent in savings, while New York and Dallas came out at the bottom of the list. Still in both of the latter regions, a couple would save 30 percent a month by moving in together.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/just_in_time_for_valentines_heres_how_much_you_can_save_by_moving_in/8108.