The 10 US cities where rent has increased the most in 2023
As the Consumer Price Index tracks a decrease in inflation, the housing sector continues to see substantive increases in rental prices.
The cost of housing in the United States has increased by 3.5 percent since January, as inflation in other good and service markets has begun to fall. Renters are feeling the pinch, with the average rental price rising 8.3 percent since June 2022. While part of the rise can be explained by the decrease in rental prices seen in the early months of the pandemic, prices remain twenty percent higher than they were in the summer of 2019. These substantive increases come as real wages for private sector workers in the United States have fallen by 1.2 percent in the same period.
The top ten rental markets that have seen the most rapid price growth this year
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks rental prices in twenty-three markets:
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
- Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- St. Louis, MO-IL
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA
- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Urban Hawaii
- Urban Alaska
However, not all housing markets have seen the same rapid growth in rental prices. Some, like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach in Florida, have recorded increases of over six percent just this year. In comparison, others, like those in the Washington DC area (including Arlington and Alexandria), have seen prices rise less than one percent since January.
After the three cities in Florida, the top ten cities with the greatest increase in rental prices are:
- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA (4.11 percent)
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (3.82 percent)
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (3.61 percent)
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI (3.18 percent)
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (3.14 percent)
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (3 percent)
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (2.65 percent)
- St. Louis, MO-IL (2.64 percent)
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (2.58 percent)
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (2.41 percent)
Many of the cities that have on the list are locations that have historically been expensive housing markets. Cities like San Fransisco and New York saw rental prices drop rapidly as residents, some of which were able to telework, fled to more rural areas. However, as the return to the office has become mandatory for some workers, these cities are seeing dramatic increases in rental prices, putting pressure on an already hot market.