The 20 most expensive cities for renters

RENT CaféThis apartment in Harlem falls in one of the 20 most expensive zip codes to rent in America.

If you rent in New York City or San Francisco, chances are you’ve felt the pinch of your monthly payments — and wondered whether you might be able to get a better deal in a different neighborhood, or a different city altogether.

Turns out, of the 20 most expensive zip codes for renters in the US, New York City neighborhoods take 15 of the top spots, according to data collected by real estate site RentCafe. Rounding out the bunch are several San Francisco neighborhoods and one in Los Angeles.

It should be noted that RentCafe’s study comes with a few caveats. Only buildings with at least 50 rental units were considered, meaning that many zip codes with small-scale apartment rentals (as is common in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles) would be excluded. Zip codes with a small rental inventory — defined as having fewer than 200 units currently on the market — were also excluded.