What's your spare room worth?

by Matt Hutchinson

If there's an empty bedroom in your house or apartment, one of the simplest ways to earn extra cash is to take in a roommate. If you own the property this can be fairly straightforward and, in fact, plenty of Americans do this already. Even if you rent your home you may be able to take advantage - for example, if you live in New York state there's something called the 'Right to have a roommate'.

The key question, of course, is 'how much could I earn?'

Here's our guide to the average rent roommates pay in the top US metro areas, to give you a sense of what your room might be worth. Actual amounts will vary depending on where you are, but this will give you a good starting point.

Metro area Average Rent $
Atlanta 898
Austin 909
Baltimore 756
Boston 1,106
Chicago 888
Dallas 723
Denver 942
Houston 765
Las Vegas 774
Los Angeles 1,219
Miami 1,119
New York 1,277
Philadelphia 838
Phoenix 846
Portland 807
Raleigh 754
Riverside 989
Sacramento 877
San Antonio 700
San Diego 1,135
San Francisco Bay Area 1,262
Seattle 988
Tampa 846
Washington D.C. 1,081

If you want to see what rents look like in your neighborhood, just search the ads on SpareRoom to see what's currently out there.

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Imange credit - Blake Wheeler