Only 9 of these 30 jobs can afford a one-bedroom in Los Angeles

A one-bedroom in Los Angeles runs about $2,285 a month, which takes $91,400 a year to afford under the rule that rent should stay below 30% of gross income. Of the 30 common occupations we track, nine clear that bar on a single salary, and it's a shorter list than most people would guess.

A police officer earns about $88,394, so they miss it by $3,006, which is close enough to sting and far enough that no landlord applying the rule will bend.

The nine that make it

These are the jobs where one paycheck covers a one-bedroom without breaking the 30% guideline, and you'll notice how many of them require a graduate degree.

The last column is important, because the typical LA apartment across all sizes costs $2,773 and needs $110,920, which means a registered nurse making $101,563 can rent a one-bedroom and still can't afford the median unit in the city she works in.

The twenty-one that don't

Below that line sit most of the jobs that keep a city running, and an elementary school teacher earning about $75,142 can support $1,879 in rent, so a one-bedroom is out and even the typical LA studio at $2,035 sits beyond reach.

A firefighter at $67,402 can afford $1,685 and a paramedic at $57,926 can afford $1,448, while electricians, plumbers, chefs, carpenters and truck drivers all land between $1,600 and $1,850, which leaves them roughly $500 short of a one-bedroom every single month.

At the bottom of the list a bartender earning $37,182 can afford $930 a month, which is about 41% of what a one-bedroom costs, so the gap there isn't something a budgeting app fixes.

What actually closes things

Sharing, since half of a two-bedroom in LA runs about $1,442 a month and needs roughly $57,680 in income, and that one change brings truck drivers, HVAC technicians, welders, bus drivers and paramedics back over the line.

A studio helps less than people expect, because at $2,035 it still takes $81,400 a year, which is enough for a police officer or an accountant but isn't enough for a teacher or an electrician.

One caveat on the wage figures, and it matters for reading this precisely. These are California statewide medians rather than Los Angeles metro numbers, so pay for some of these roles runs higher inside LA than the state figure suggests, particularly at the top end. The rent side is LA-specific, and we haven't adjusted the wages upward without data to support it.

The wider version of this pattern shows up in our study of cities where teachers can't afford rent, and you can check whatever job you're in against local rent on its own page, like the police officer breakdown for Los Angeles.

Sources

• RentDataNow Los Angeles rent data by bedroom size (Zillow Observed Rent Index, June 2026)

• RentDataNow occupation wage data, California statewide medians, 2024

• US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics