How much space does $1,500 a month get a renter in Clark County?

The growing affordable housing crisis may leave many renters wondering how far their dollars will go in Clark County.

The Columbian asked RentCafe, an online platform that helps renters find and manage housing, how much square footage $1,500 a month will fetch in Clark County.

RentCafe had data for two cities here. Vancouver renters with a $1,500 cap can expect around 784 square feet of living space — typically enough for a modest one-bedroom apartment. That puts the city at 50th in RentCafe’s ranking of 100 small U.S. cities — which ranges from Tallahassee, Fla., to Yonkers, N.Y. — for how much space renters get with that budget.

RentCafe also provided data for Camas, where $1,500 secures 689 square feet on average. The typical U.S. renter gets to stretch out a bit more, with about 715 square feet at that price point.

But don’t cry over your lease agreements just yet, Camas renters. Just look north. According to RentCafe’s findings, Seattle renters get 445 square feet for $1,500.

However, a national trend may provide a glimmer of hope.

An April RentCafe study found a shift in the rental market. The study dubbed square footage the “new currency” as demand for more spacious apartments rises. The pivot became more pronounced, RentCafe found, as the average size of newly built American apartments increased to 908 square feet — reversing a decade-long trend of shrinking floor plans.

The study also found that studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units all saw subtle upticks — up to 13 square feet.