If you haven't moved recently, you might not know that rental rates have gone up over the past year. In fact, rental rates have climbed at a steeper rate than ever before, and that's alarming. The numerous factors include the COVID-19 pandemic, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program at state and federal levels, as well as inflation. It's also true that your rent may have been raised by your landlord during your current lease. Whatever the case, it's important to know how much rates have increased in your current locale or in a location where you plan on moving. We've put together a couple of infographics for you. The first shows us the ten cities/regions where apartment rental rates have increased the most.
The 10 Biggest Rental Rate Increases in America
A landlord can increase your rental rate, but sometimes the amount of the increase depends on the state where you live. There's no question that having your rental rates increase is rough, but when it jumps more than the national average of about 2% (in 2019) in the United States, that's hard to stomach. Some cities may actually require that a landlord pay for a tenant's relocation costs rent is raised above a certain amount. In other locations, that's not a factor, and there may not even be a limit as to how much your rent can be increased.
For the 2021-2022 timeframe, there were some truly insane increases in apartment rental rates that make 2% look like nothing at all. Here's an infographic we've put together that shows areas to stay away from. These stats are based on one-bedroom apartments across the nation.
The Average Rent Increase Across the United States
If you think big rental rate increases were reserved only for specific areas, think again. It seems that economic conditions across the country have created an atmosphere ripe for rate hikes. Depending on where you live, rates increases could be higher than in others, but there are unlikely to be many places where rates have actually dropped.
For 2021, rental rates increased the most they have in history, jumping into double digits across the nation. To give you an example, if you paid an even $1,000 per month for a one-bedroom apartment in 2020, your rent would've jumped by $120 per month, totaling an increase of $1,440 per year. That's just for a one-bedroom apartment, of course. If it's a two or three-bedrooms, your monthly and yearly increase would've been significantly higher, to the tune of more than 14%.
The bottom line is that you should pay attention to rental rate increases in your area. If you factor in the increased cost of living, it may no longer be an option for you to stay where you are, or you may have to change plans for the location you want to move to. If your employer gave you a 4% annual pay increase, but your overall cost of living has gone up (14% rent increase, 14% inflation rate for consumer goods) much higher than that, you'll have to make adjustments somewhere, and that may very well be your monthly rent amount, which you can control (not so much national inflation).
