Rising mortgage rates have pushed homeownership beyond affordability for a growing number of Americans, and with limited opportunities for housing in the for-sale market, many are instead opting to rent. That increased demand in the rental sector is sending rental costs to new highs nationwide, even in cities undergoing a major housing correction during a market downturn.
The smallest year-over-year rent increase was recorded in Reno, Nev., where prices rose by just 1.6%. In contrast, Marysville, Wash., saw the largest annual rent increase with a gain of 93.2% from March 2022 to March 2023, Forbes reports.
And, indeed, the average cost of rent has increased across the United States, in cities both big and small, over the course of the last year.
The cities that comprise our list are quite diverse. Some cities are major urban centers, such as Mobile, Alabama, Portland, Maine, or Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In other cases, the cities may be quite small.