Couples Will Spend Two Years' Worth of Rent to Pay for their Wedding

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- When planning a wedding, many couples face sticker shock at the price of venues, caterers, rings, photographers and other day-of essentials. A new HotPads® report found that couples will spend the equivalent of about two years' worth of rent to pay for their wedding.

The average cost of a wedding – including engagement rings, a ceremony, a reception and a honeymoon – is $36,000, according to the WeddingWire's 2018 Newlywed Reportⁱ, which is just $480 more than two years' worth of the median rent. The median rent across the U.S. is $1,480 per month.

Nationally, rents have risen between 2 and 3 percent annually since September 2017. While this steady increase is slower than increases in previous years, rising rents still present an affordability challenge for renters across the country. In some metros, including Sacramento, San Diego, Atlanta and Orlando, rents rose 5 percent or more since this time last year.

"Millennials are spending more on their rent and their wedding than any generation before them," said Douglas Pope, co-founder and general manager of HotPads. "It's common for couples to start thinking about two major life-milestones – buying their first home and having kids – soon after getting married. As couples plan to tie the knot, not only should they think through their top priorities for their big day, but also their top priorities for the future."

Couples in hot rental markets like San Francisco and San Diego can expect to spend less than a year's worth of rent on wedding costs, mainly because rental prices are much higher in these markets to begin with.

While the cost of a wedding may seem staggering, not all couples pay for it alone – for millennials, family members cover about 60 percent of wedding costs ⁱⁱ.

HotPads is a Zillow® Group-owned apartment and home search platform for renters in urban areas across the United States. For more information on the U.S. rental market, visit HotPads.com.

Metropolitan Area	Months of Rent Spent on Wedding	Average Wedding Cost ⁱⁱⁱ	Median Monthly Rent	YoY Change in Rent
United States	25	$36,000	$1,480	2.6%
Pittsburgh, PA	24	$26,000	$1,095	1.7%
Hartford, CT	21	$34,000	$1,645	1.5%
Detroit, MI	21	$26,000	$1,270	3.6%
Cleveland, OH	20	$23,000	$1,180	2.0%
Philadelphia, PA	20	$32,000	$1,655	2.0%
Chicago, IL	20	$34,000	$1,765	2.0%
New York, NY	20	$45,000	$2,350	1.0%
Baltimore, MD	19	$33,000	$1,740	1.2%
Atlanta, GA	19	$26,000	$1,425	5.0%
Raleigh, NC	18	$26,000	$1,460	2.9%
Houston, TX	18	$28,000	$1,575	1.9%
Charlotte, NC	18	$24,000	$1,355	3.9%
St. Louis, MO	18	$21,000	$1,190	1.8%
Tampa, FL	18	$25,000	$1,440	4.3%
Orlando, FL	17	$25,000	$1,475	5.0%
Washington, DC	16	$34,000	$2,150	1.3%
Miami, FL	16	$31,000	$1,990	2.1%
Boston, MA	16	$37,000	$2,400	3.3%
Dallas, TX	16	$25,000	$1,650	3.3%
Minneapolis, MN	14	$22,000	$1,645	3.8%
Sacramento, CA	14	$25,000	$1,905	7.2%
Los Angeles, CA	12	$33,000	$2,850	4.4%
Denver, CO	12	$23,000	$2,090	4.0%
San Diego, CA	11	$29,000	$2,645	5.0%
San Francisco - Oakland, CA	11	$36,000	$3,410	3.2%

HotPads

HotPads is an efficient rental search platform for urban areas across the United States, with features designed for competitive markets such as map-based search, real-time notifications and detailed information on landlords and property managers that help renters spend less time searching and more time feeling excited about their next home.

Launched in 2005, HotPads is based in San Francisco and is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG).

HotPads is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

ⁱ Data from WeddingWire's 2018 Newlywed Report
ⁱⁱ WeddingWire's 2018 Newlywed Report
ⁱⁱⁱ WeddingWire's 2018 Newlywed Report

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