How Much Space You Can Rent for $1,200 in These 36 North Carolina Cities

- For $ 1,200, you’ll get about 34% more apartment space in North Carolina than the 711 square foot average in the 100 most populous cities in the United States.
- Of the 36 North Carolina cities included in our research, High Point and Chapel Hill had the largest and smallest apartments, respectively, for $ 1,200.
- Use the calculator at the end of the article to find out how much space you can rent in North Carolina, whatever your budget.
Undeniably, space is something we have all come to appreciate over the past year during the pandemic, as it has become increasingly important to everyone, especially apartment dwellers.
So RENTCafé analysts looked at how much space you could rent in North Carolina for $ 1,200, which is close to the state’s average monthly rent of $ 1,202. Based on Yardi Matrix data – and a bit of research – we’ve highlighted the cities where apartments offer the most and the least bang for your buck.
Turns out, North Carolina is a great place to live, as most cities have pretty spacious apartments. On average, you can get 950 square feet of living space for $ 1,200 in the state, far more than the 711 square feet you can rent for the same amount in the 100 most populous cities. This means apartments in North Carolina offer 34% more space for the same price.
We’ve put together the following infographic, which compares apartment sizes across the 36 North Carolina cities included in our study. The tile size represents the actual proportion of the space available in the apartment for $ 1,200.
Statewide, the sizes of apartments you can rent on a budget of $ 1,200 range from 794 square feet in Chapel Hill to almost 40% more space in High Point (1,266). Notably, although they are at opposite ends of our rankings, these two North Carolina cities are only 60 miles apart in the middle of the state.
Top 5 cities with the most apartment space for $ 1,200
High Point, located in the Greensboro subway, is where you can find the most apartment space in the state, at 1,266 square feet, for that set amount. The city has an average rent of $ 906 – one of the lowest in North Carolina – which makes this community of nearly 112,000 people affordable and great to live in.
Meanwhile, $ 1,200 can also pay for generous square footage in other cities, like Asheboro (1221) – which is close to High Point and Greensboro – as well as Statesville (1220), a town 50 miles away. outside of Charlotte. Salisbury and Clemmons were also in the top 5, with 1,219 square feet and 1,215 square feet, respectively.
All of these cities boast local average rents between $ 803 and $ 947 – lower than the state average – making them a great choice for those looking for a large apartment and lower rents.
Top 5 cities with the least apartment space for $ 1,200
Conversely, the least space you can get for the same price in North Carolina is usually found in cities with higher rents, but overall the quality of apartments is better and they are. generally considered more attractive places. For example, Chapel Hill Apartments – where rents average $ 1,459 per month – offer about 794 square feet for $ 1,200.
Then Charlotte and Matthews – located just 11 miles apart on the Charlotte subway – are both among the cities in the state where you get less space for that money, but you’ll live in some. of the most sought after places. Specifically, the Charlotte Apartments comprise 874 square feet and the Matthews Apartments, with only 891 square feet for a monthly rent of $ 1,200.
The top 5 is closed by Huntersville and Raleigh where the same amount will give you smaller apartments of 896 square feet and 905 square feet, respectively. So, if you decide to choose one of these cities, be aware that you will have to shell out between $ 1,255 and $ 1,459 for monthly rent. On the plus side, you’ll enjoy better locations in most of them, so this is something definitely worth considering.
What you can rent for $ 1,200 on the 3 largest subways in North Carolina
Here’s how much space you can get for $ 1,200 on North Carolina’s three largest subways:
In the Charlotte Metro, Statesville apartments tend to offer more living space for that money. Here you can get 1,220 square feet for the monthly rent of $ 1,200. Salisbury and Gastonia also prove to be great towns to live in, as the space you could get here would also be substantially large at 1,219 square feet and 1,148 square feet, respectively.
Meanwhile, the cities that offer the least space in the Charlotte metro are Charlotte (874 square feet), Matthews (891), and Huntersville (896) offer the least space in the Charlotte metro.
In the Raleigh Metro, the main cities that offer the largest space for $ 1,200 are Garner (1,031 square feet), Clayton (1,007 square feet) and Apex (987).
On the flip side, Raleigh apartments offer the least space on the subway, at 905 square feet. However, living in the state capital certainly has its perks.
High Point apartments for rent are 1,266 square feet, the largest space you can get for the monthly rent of $ 1,200 Greensboro Metro. Asheboro and Jamestown are also generous cities in terms of space, as they all offer over 1,160 square feet for the same amount.
On the other hand, the least space in this area is in the Greensboro apartments, where you can only get 1,137 square feet, less than the rest of the subway.
See how much space you can get on your budget
Want to know how much space you can afford based on your budget in these 36 North Carolina cities? Use the calculator below.
Apartment size for your budgetSq. Ft.

Methodology
- This report was prepared by RENTCafé, a nationwide apartment search website that makes it easy for renters to find apartments and houses for rent across the United States.
- To compile this report, we analyzed data on average rental prices and apartment sizes provided by Yardi Matrix, RENTCafé’s sister company that researches and reports on large-scale multi-family properties of over 50 units. Yardi Matrix is a business development and asset management tool intended for brokers, sponsors, banks and sources of equity underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors.
- Information on average state rent and apartment sizes is based on data for 413,000 units at market rates and 1,900 multi-family properties across the state of North Carolina.
- The average apartment square footage per $ 1,200 in rent was calculated by dividing $ 1,200 by the average rent cost per square foot in 36 North Carolina cities with a statistically relevant sample of apartments.