Never judge value of something by how much it costs to produce, it's not fair. Judge it by how much people are willing to pay for it. And in most major metropol

Never judge value of something by how much it costs to produce, it's not fair. Judge it by how much people are willing to pay for it. And in most major metropolitan areas you're paying premium for your rent to outbid all other renters that would be ready to live in such a lucrative place. In essence, you're paying back not only to people who work in construction, but to ask the people who made this city so desired, over many generations. It takes much more than a month of work per renter to create all the value that you get from living in New York or San Francisco. If all you need is literally just shelter regardless of location, there's plenty of places around the globe where you could rent a perfectly good apartment for $300 per month.