New Orleans, California Cities Have Highest Rent Increases in 2017

Most renters are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent, per Census Bureau data, and rents continue to rise, especially in urban areas.

To find the top 10 cities with the largest rent increases, SmartAsset considered 2013 median household incomes, 2016 median household incomes, 2013 average rent and 2016 average rent. Four of the top 16 cities with the largest rent increases are in California, the highest ranking city being Los Angeles, followed by Oakland, and Long Beach.

No city in our study has seen the rent affordability deteriorate quite as much as New Orleans. From 2013 to 2016 median household incomes rose about $2,000. Over the same period average monthly rents jumped about $400. That means more income than ever is going to rent. We estimate that around 47 percent of the average New Orleans household’s income would go to rent on the average home.

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