Austin leads the U.S. as the most affordable metro for living alone

Not everyone is cut out for living with roommates, but finding an affordable place to live alone can be tricky. Luckily, the Greater Austin area has become the No. 1 most affordable metro in America for living by yourself, according to a new report.

Analysts at Apartments.com discovered Austin renters spend the lowest share of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent out of the 50 biggest metros in the U.S. Dwindling rent prices and the prevalence of major tech employers are also attracting new renters, and the city has an 11.6 percent apartment vacancy rate.

The study used a 30 percent "common budgeting guideline" to calculate the share of median renter household income spent on one-bedroom asking rents across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and determined renters can only afford to live alone in 24 of the 50 metros without crossing the 30 percent threshold.