See what $1,500 a month in rent gets you in Sacramento and the suburbs

When it comes to getting the most space for your buck, renters in the Sacramento region should take a look at Elk Grove.

Davis, on the other hand, not so much.

A new analysis by data-crunching real estate firm Apartment List determined what $1,500 a month in rent will get you in most American cities. Not surprisingly, San Francisco was the nation's worst deal among large cities, with $1,500 in rent securing just 340 square feet on average.

Apartment List calculated its data using the average price per square foot of apartments listed on its website over the past six months.

In Elk Grove, $1,500 a month gets renters an average of 1,380 square feet. That was the best deal among suburbs in the area that are incorporated as cities, slightly better than the 1,370 square foot deals in Lincoln and the 1,310 square feet that $1,500 rent gets in Rancho Cordova and Woodland.

Paying $1,500 in rent will secure a 1,070-square-foot apartment in Sacramento, the study showed. The city is experiencing some of the biggest rent increases in the country and could soon have a rent control ballot measure campaign.

Renters in Davis are getting the worst deals in the region. The average square footage for a $1,500-a-month apartment in the college town is just 830 square feet. That's about what renters can expect in places like Denver, San Luis Obispo and the small city of Mililani, just up the road from Honolulu on the island of O’ahu.

If you're really sick of high rent, the best deal in the country appears to be in Waynesville, Mo., where $1,500 a month gets you 2,920 square feet. The tiny town of 4,830 is nestled in the heart of the Ozarks.

How big an apartment does $1,500 a month get?

Elk Grove 1,380 square feet

Lincoln 1,370

Rancho Cordova 1,310

Woodland 1,310

El Dorado Hills 1,230

West Sacramento 1,210

Orangevale 1,200

Auburn 1,190

Citrus Heights 1,180

Roseville 1,170

Folsom 1,140

Carmichael 1,110

Arden-Arcade 1,090

Sacramento 1,070

Davis 830

Source: Apartment List

This story was originally published February 28, 2018 at 11:32 AM with the headline "See what $1,500 a month in rent gets you in Sacramento and the suburbs."