US rent guide
Is a Roommate Worth It? 2-Bed Split vs Renting Solo (July 2026)
Data as of Jun 9, 2026 · one-beds vs two-beds across 33 states
Everyone knows a roommate is cheaper. Almost nobody knows by how much. So we took the real median one-bedroom and two-bedroom in every state, split the two-bed evenly between two people, and compared it to renting a one-bed on your own. The gap is bigger than most people guess, and it’s consistent across the entire country.
Solo 1-bed (US median)
$1,375/mo
2-bed split per person
$790/mo
You save
$585/mo
Nationally, splitting a $1,580 two-bedroom works out to $790 a person, versus $1,375 to live alone in a one-bedroom. That’s about $585 a month back in your pocket, roughly $7,020 a year, for trading a little privacy. And it holds in every state we checked, only the size of the win changes.
Per-person savings by state
Median one-bedroom (renting solo) versus half of a median two-bedroom (splitting with one roommate), sorted by the biggest per-person savings first. States need at least ten one-beds and fifteen two-beds to appear.
| # | State | Solo 1-bed | 2-bed ÷ 2 | You save / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $2,203 | $1,239 | $964 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $2,450 | $1,512 | $938 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $1,895 | $963 | $932 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $2,004 | $1,100 | $904 |
| 5 | Virginia | $1,600 | $710 | $890 |
| 6 | New York | $1,750 | $875 | $875 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $1,845 | $1,042 | $803 |
| 8 | Washington | $1,695 | $913 | $782 |
| 9 | Maryland | $1,600 | $872 | $728 |
| 10 | Florida | $1,539 | $827 | $712 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $1,500 | $800 | $700 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $1,381 | $727 | $654 |
| 13 | Oregon | $1,435 | $798 | $637 |
| 14 | Utah | $1,336 | $700 | $636 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $1,295 | $668 | $627 |
| 16 | Illinois | $1,660 | $1,041 | $619 |
| 17 | Georgia | $1,293 | $675 | $618 |
| 18 | Tennessee | $1,260 | $650 | $610 |
| 19 | Colorado | $1,425 | $819 | $606 |
| 20 | South Carolina | $1,337 | $738 | $599 |
| 21 | North Carolina | $1,247 | $649 | $598 |
| 22 | Arizona | $1,291 | $709 | $582 |
| 23 | Nevada | $1,308 | $750 | $558 |
| 24 | Texas | $1,110 | $588 | $522 |
| 25 | Kentucky | $1,115 | $598 | $517 |
| 26 | Missouri | $1,099 | $589 | $510 |
| 27 | Indiana | $1,099 | $606 | $493 |
| 28 | Michigan | $1,220 | $738 | $482 |
| 29 | Alabama | $1,080 | $600 | $480 |
| 30 | Ohio | $1,160 | $682 | $478 |
| 31 | Iowa | $1,000 | $550 | $450 |
| 32 | Oklahoma | $970 | $543 | $427 |
| 33 | Louisiana | $1,055 | $639 | $416 |
How we calculated it
“Solo 1-bed” is the median one-bedroom rent in the state. “2-bed ÷ 2” is the median two-bedroom split evenly between two people, the realistic roommate scenario. The difference is what each person saves versus living alone. It assumes an even split and ignores the obvious trade-off (you share the space), but the dollar gap is large enough that it rarely changes the math. Medians (not averages) keep luxury outliers from skewing it; rooms and senior housing are excluded. Live data, last updated Jun 9, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to have a roommate or live alone?
Almost always a roommate, and by a lot. Nationally a two-bedroom rents for $1,580/mo, so split two ways that's $790 each, versus $1,375 for a one-bedroom alone, about $585/mo saved per person. The exact gap by state is in the table above.
How much do you save with a roommate?
It ranges by state. The biggest split savings are in California, around $964/mo per person versus renting a one-bed solo; even the smallest-gap states still come out ahead. See the full ranking above.
Is a two-bedroom cheaper than two one-bedrooms?
Far cheaper. Two people in a $1,580 two-bedroom pay $790 each; two people each renting their own $1,375 one-bedroom pay $1,375 each. Sharing roughly halves the rent line for a little less privacy.
How did you calculate this?
For each state we took the median one-bedroom and the median two-bedroom we currently track (states with at least ten one-beds and fifteen two-beds; rooms and senior housing excluded), split the two-bedroom evenly between two people, and compared that per-person figure to renting a one-bedroom alone. Live data, last updated Jun 9, 2026.
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