Not sure if you've been outside in the past 2 years but I'm afraid I've got some bad news for ya...

Thanks to AI programs that set prices, inflation, and straight-up greed … “rent is too damn high!”

Better get a roommate to split it with you or bite the bullet

now go look at the "big cities" and see how much those cost

Up in Maine, since Covid happened, it is common for places to get 100+ applications for places. People will also offer to pay more for rent to get places. Pittsburgh is bad, but thankfully it’s not close to this level yet.

Massive cynical companies buy empty houses and sit on them for years. $5,000 is more than $2,000. A poorer family could move into a house and turn it into a good home but money talks. Many of these companies are not Pittsburgh based, so they don't give a shit about the day to day lives of the people living here. Profits go up, and more is more.
It goes to highest bidder, and most of the time they do get sold. Because that's just 'the way it is'. It's very sad.
There should be laws against this stuff. Because at the end of the day, it's just hoarding. When people do it, we send interventions and specialists. When companies do it, we send awards and more money.
Lunatic stuff.

i pay <800 for a well-kept 1BR with central air and hardwood floors in a desirable neighborhood in the city itself. if you rent from locally owned and operated people, you too can have this. dont use corporate companies or landlords that dont live nearby.