How Much Money Can You Save by Living with an Apartment Roommate?

With an apartment roommate, you might lose some privacy, but you’ll gain savings.

A 2017 report from the real estate website Trulia found that in the 25 largest rental markets in the U.S., a renter could save an average 13% of their income by sharing a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate.

Rent

Let’s say you’re renting a two-bedroom apartment in a place like Houston, Phoenix, or San Antonio. In each of those cities, the median rent was $1,000 a month as of June 2018. So, if you and a roommate were both living there, you’d split the rent and pay about $500 each month.

By comparison, living alone in a one-bedroom apartment in one of those cities would cost about $840 month. As you can see, it’d set you back an additional $340.

Rent isn’t the only area where you can save money by having a roommate, though.

The security deposit will most likely equal your monthly rent. That’s another chance to split and save!

Bills

Now, let’s talk about bills. Yes, bills… a necessary evil! Using Houston, Phoenix, or San Antonio as our example, we get:

• Internet: In the U.S., the average internet bill totaled about $60 a month in early 2018. Cut that in half, and you’re looking at $30 a month per roommate. Cha-ching!
• Electricity: In 2016, the average electric bill in the U.S. was $112 a month. When you split that down the middle, you wind up with $56 a month if you’ve got a roommate.
• Furniture: Whether you own or rent furniture, you’re bound to cut costs if you have a roommate. One of you might already have a lot of furniture, for instance, or if neither of you owns furniture, you can divide the furniture rental bill in half.
• Groceries: With two people in an apartment, there are obviously two mouths to feed, and that means a higher grocery bill. But you might be able to squeeze out some savings by sharing expenses for standard items like milk, bread, and eggs. Plus, if you prepare meals together, you could save money and time.
• Other apartment necessities: You might see some cost reductions if you split purchases of household goods like toilet paper and laundry detergent, particularly if you buy them in bulk at stores like Costco and Sam’s Club.

The bottom line is that you could end up with hundreds of more dollars in your pocket every month if you live with a roommate instead of living alone. That’s more money for buying clothes, eating out, taking a trip, or stashing cash in a savings account!

Convinced? ApartmentSearch can help you find an affordable two bedroom apartment with the exact features you and your roommates want. If you need some help writing an ad for a roommate, or responding to a roommate ad, we’ve got you covered.