How much house $350,000 will buy you in 11 American cities

We can’t stop thinking about that $350,000 shack for sale in downtown San Francisco. It seems to represent so many things about the state of the economy (and zoning laws) there, not to mention the mindset of SF residents.

On Monday, Curbed added to a new series where it picks a figure (in this case $1,500) and compares how much you can rent in several cities for a given amount.

That got some of us thinking: What could you get in other cities for the $350,000 shack price? Surely something more substantial, since $350,000 is about double the median U.S. home price.

Here are our findings for 11 of them, ranked by ascending square feet, according to results on Zillow.com.

Manhattan (Studio)

We’d probably stay away from this one. The portrait-style photos below are indicative of the narrow space you’re going to be living in. Also a relatively crud location just below Columbus Circle in a building built in 1980. 350 sq. ft.

Brooklyn (2 br, 1 ba)

Prospect Heights is rapidly gentrifying, but you can still get a decent deal on a pre-war co-op abutting Prospect Park. 672 sq. ft.

Los Angeles (1 br, 1 ba)

This place looks straight out of a Pynchon novel: There’s not much there, but the location and views are stunning. 700 sq. ft.

Washington, DC area (1 br, 1 ba)

This condo is technically in Arlington, since real estate prices in DC proper have reached stratospheric levels. Has a mostly unobstructed view of Washington Monument. 747 sq. ft.

Boston (2 br, 1 ba)

Bit out of the way and small, but good access to Boston College and Boston University. 774 sq. ft.

Miami (1 br, 1.5 ba)

This is a fairly standard set up of a newly remodeled condo in Miami’s chic downtown Brickell neighborhood, with a cool view of the Miami River. The building is called the Neo Vertika. 843 sq. ft.

Portland (3 br, 1 ba)

No, sharing one bathroom among three (or more!) people does not sound ideal. But this house has a nice lil’ fire pit in the back and is just a few blocks from the beautiful Wilamette River. 1,000 sq. ft.

Chicago (2 br, 1 ba)

This is a great deal in a great neighborhood (Lincoln Park) with stainless steel appliances, new cabinets, and a newly rehabbed bathroom. 1,200 sq. ft.

Austin (2 br, 2 ba)

Close to downtown but a beat of a ‘tweener as it’s in a larger complex. 1,424 sq. ft.

Houston (2 br, 3 ba)

I also really liked this one in Houston’s Fourth Ward, a bit out of the way but the first proper homes on the list. 2,251 sq. ft.

Detroit (3 br, 3 ba)

Detroit really does have everything you could possibly want (except the weather): Culture, surrounded by great universities, and a rebounding economy. And enormous homes for great prices.  2,952 sq. ft.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.