Cities where rent takes the biggest bite out of your salary Mario Tama / Getty Images In New York City, high rents are a way of life. Many factors can make a housing rental market difficult to negotiate, such as tight supply and fierce competition for the most desirable properties. But chief among potentially problematic rental factors is the cost. To get an indication of how stretched renters are in each market, the data team at John Burns Real Estate Consulting looked at the rent-to-income ratios in 40 major U.S. cities. The resulting list is particularly heavy with representatives from one state. And while it might not be the argument-ender on where it's the most difficult to find a rental, it can speak to the costliness of these 10 markets. "This list has the underpinnings of why they are the strongest rental markets in the country," says Peter Dennehy, Burns Consulting vice president. It's a combination of reasonably high household income and job growth (meaning cities less-affected by recession or ones growing again), and barriers to home ownership (i.e. cost), as well as a long-term trend toward density. "We're expecting continued rent growth, and as landlords push rents higher, we expect to see some movement of current renters into homeownership," says Wayne Yamano, director of research at Burns. Move-outs to own are still at historically low levels, but some REITs (real estate investment trusts) are starting to see an uptick. Here are the cities with the highest rent-to-income ratio. The figures are for metropolitan areas. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. Rent-to-income ratio: 25 percent Population: 4,287,600 Median household income: $53,365 San Jose, Calif. Rent-to-income ratio: 25 percent Population: 1,854,300 Median household income: $85,677 Orange County, Calif. Rent-to-income ratio: 26 percent Population: 3,050,400 San Diego Rent-to-income ratio: 28 percent Population: 3,138,200 Median household income: $60,606 Boston Rent-to-income ratio: 28 percent Population: 4,576,700 Median household income: $76,731 Detroit Rent-to-income ratio: 28 percent Population: 1,806,100 Median household income: $36,127 Miami Rent-to-income ratio: 29 percent Population: 2,514,200 Median household income: $45,219 San Francisco Rent-to-income ratio: 33 percent Population: 1,789,900 Median household income: $79,076 Los Angeles Rent-to-income ratio: 36 percent Population: 9,932,100 Median household income: $55,579 New York Rent-to-income ratio: 52 percent Population: 11,611,400 Median household income: $60,161 More from cnbc.com