$1,500 now gets you less apartment space in Salt Lake City

• Nationally, apartments at that price point average 703 square feet.

Zoom in: You'll get more bang for your buck in West Valley City, where $1,500 gets you 895 square feet.

By the numbers: The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Salt Lake City was about $1,430 a month in July, with an average size of 659 square feet, according to Zillow.

Between the lines: Almost half of renters in the city are rent-burdened, per a 2022 report, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

Zoom out: You can get an apartment nearly twice as large — 1,378 square feet — in McAllen, Texas. But then you'd have to live in McAllen, Texas.

• On the flip side, $1,500 gets you just 210 square feet in Manhattan, New York. That's about the size of a one-car garage.