Solo living is getting pricier, per The Economist’s “Carrie Bradshaw index”

The Economist just dropped its 2025 “Carrie Bradshaw index,” named after the “Sex and the City” main character who lived (and splurged) solo in New York. The index compares gross median wages with the income you need to actually afford a median-priced studio in 100 US cities, using the 30% rent-to-income rule. A score above 1 means the average worker can afford to live alone; below 1 means rent is out of reach. 

This year, 41 cities landed in the “unaffordable” club, up from 38 last year, with even previously cheaper Southern hubs like Houston and Dallas, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee, slipping below the threshold. In Texas, rents are climbing faster than wages as the influx of tech firms — and the new residents they attract — fuels demand, while in Memphis, that surge is paired with limited housing supply from soaring construction costs.

On the brighter side, Phoenix, Arizona; Aurora, Colorado; and Knoxville, Tennessee, became more affordable thanks to falling rents or rising wages — while Wichita, Kansas, once again topped the list for affordability. Median wages there are as much as 77% higher than what’s needed to cover an average studio, making it a safer, if a little less interesting, bet than Manhattan for the Carrie Bradshaws of today.

The lifestyles and spending habits in “Sex and the City” were never exactly rooted in reality most of the time. But just how close can a median-wage worker get to living like the index’s namesake in 2025? To find out, we assumed a median worker rents a median-priced studio, then subtracted bills and utilities (electricity, internet, and more) from their after-tax wage, and assessed what was left for Bradshawian living in each city.

For the most part, the math lines up with the Bradshaw Index. In Wichita, even after rent and bills, the median paycheck still leaves room for splurges — like three pairs of Jimmy Choos a month, or 16 restaurant meals a week, or about three 8-mile cab rides a day... or seven to eight Marlboro packs daily. Miami, by contrast, shrinks that to just one monthly pair of Choos or around four dinners out a week. And in New York, a median worker slips instantly into the red after median rent and utilities. Indeed, even six-figure salaries can no longer keep pace with Manhattan rents under the 30% rule now, per a new Bloomberg report.

Still, wages and local quirks can shift the picture. San Jose looks “unaffordable” on the index, yet its sky-high tech pay still covers three pairs of Choos a month after bills and rent. And while Chicago’s rent-to-wage ratio isn’t that terrible, the city’s steep tobacco taxes might limit your smoking budget to just 3.2 packs a day, the lowest among cities in its affordability range.