Study: Eastern Malibu Most Expensive For Renters

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Better bring in big bucks if you want to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Eastern Malibu.

According to a new report from RentHop, the coastal area along the Pacific Ocean roughly between Pepperdine University and The Getty Villa is the least affordable in Los Angeles County, with a median rent of $6,500 per month, requiring $260,000 per year in household income.

To calculate what is and isn't affordable in the county, RentHop's data scientists used the "40x rule" — household income must be at least 40 times the monthly rent.

The study compared two-bedroom median rents against the median annual household of Los Angeles County.

According to the most recent Census' American Community Survey, median annual household income for Los Angeles County is $59,134.

Other pricey neighborhoods include Western Malibu, Central Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Venice and Bel Air-Beverly Crest.

The median rent for a two-bedroom in Los Angeles is $2,480 per month, requiring an annual income of $99,200 ($2,480 x 40) to secure. That's about 168 percent of the LA median household income. That leaves only a handful of neighborhoods at or below the $1,478 per month rent for a two-bedroom apartment that a family making the average LA income of $59,134 could afford.

Neighborhoods where the market value for a two-bedroom apartment are at or below the income-rent ratio include Sierra Madre Villa, Central Long Beach, Huntington Park and East Compton.

Another new report from the UCLA Anderson School of Management found that LA is the most unaffordable city in the United States for both renters and buyers.