The Cities Where Rent Swallows Your Salary

Rent can swallow a significant portion of your pay check, depending on where you live. In Boston, a worker on an average wage will have to pay 29.8 percent of his or her earnings on rental costs every month, according to The Global Cities Business Alliance. Even though housing in Mexico City is far cheaper, income levels are also much lower, with workers earning an average salary paying 58 percent of it towards their accommodation.

Interestingly, rental costs in Beijing are 1.2 times higher than monthly wages. This means that somebody earning an average salary in China's capital cannot live alone in typical city accommodation. Employer-secured housing does alleviate this problem in some cases.