The most expensive city in America is... San Francisco? (And New York didn't even make the top 10)

New Yorkers may be famous for complaints about the city's outrageous rents, but the Big Apple isn't the least affordable city in the country, according to a new survey.



In fact, it's not even in the top 10. Neither is star-studded Los Angeles.



Instead, the highest rents are found in San Francisco, California, where a two-bedroom apartment costs an average of $1,905 a month.

High costs: The highest rents are found in San Francisco, where a two-bedroom apartment costs an average of $1,905 a month

A combination of strict zoning laws that make new housing scarce and prohibitively expensive and a dramatic rise in salaries from the social media and tech boom have driven rents through the roof in recent years.

The report, released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, is meant to underscore how average rents are out-pacing average wages and making living in America's cities more difficult for working families, said Elina Bravve, a research analyst for the nonprofit group.

The group advocates that households should spend only 30 percent of their wages on housing, a federal standard in place for nearly 40 years.

By that benchmark, a family would need to earn more than $76,000 a year to afford a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

It'll cost you: Honolulu's picturesque Waikiki Beach is what makes it one of the most unaffordable places to live

However San Francisco, along with most of the cities at the top of the list, is wealthy area with high median income and large salaries.



The average San Francisco family earns $93,400 a year - well above the threshold for spending 30 percent of income on housing.



The second-most unaffordable rental market is Stamford and Norwalk, Connecticut, home to a host of hedge fund managers and bankers.



The average two-bedroom apartment there costs $1,769 a month.

Not so bad: New Yorkers may be famous for complaining about the outrageous rents, but the Big Apple isn't even in the top 10

AMERICA'S MOST UNAFFORDABLE CITIES

The top 10 most unaffordable cities are shown below, with the average cost per month for a two-bedroom apartment, the 'renting wage,' which is what a family must earn to afford an average two-bedroom apartment with pay just 30 per cent of their income and median income for the area. San Francisco, California: $1,905 -- $76,200 -- $93,400 Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut: $1,769 -- $70,760 -- $104,300 Honolulu, Hawaii: $1,767 -- $81,700 -- $70,680 Nassau-Suffolk, New York: $1,682 -- $67,280 -- $78,300 Orange County, California: $1,652 -- $66,080 -- $68,200 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California: $1,623 -- $64,920 -- $103,500 Westchester County, New York: $1,580 -- $63,200 -- $78,300 Bergen-Passaic, New Jersey -- $1,515 -- $60,600 -- $78,300 Danbury, Connecticut: $1,512 -- $60,480 -- $78,300

Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Virginia: $1,506 -- $60,240 -- $103,500



