Is it Worth Paying Higher Rent to Live in a City with Good Public Transportation?

The Citizens Budget Commission, a New York-based nonprofit that studies state and city government issues, recently released a policy brief concluding, based on an analysis of 22 large cities, that New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., are the most affordable cities in which to live.  How can that be?  According to the policy brief, these cities’ quality public transportation systems make up for high rents. 

The table below shows the average portion of income families spend on housing (blue) and transportation (green) in the studied cities. 

Source: CBC Policy Brief