Here's the income you need to comfortably pay rent on a 2-bedroom apartment in 15 of the largest US cities

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City life isn't cheap.

According to the personal-finance site SmartAsset, you have to earn over $150,000 a year to afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment in New York City.

In its new report, the site looked at the average fair market rent (the average cost of renting an available apartment in 2016) for two-bedroom apartments in the 300 largest US cities, then focused on the main cities within the 15 largest metro areas.

To calculate the gross income required, SmartAsset set the rent-to-income ratio at 28% — that percentage is based off of government standards, which say that housing is affordable if you don't have to spend over 30% of your income on housing-related expenses.

Read on to see how much you would have to make (before taxes) to afford rent in 15 major US cities.

15. Detroit

14. Phoenix

Fair market rent for a two-bedroom: $1,162 a month

Income required: $49,800

13. Riverside, California

Fair market rent for a two-bedroom: $1,239 a month

Income required: $53,100