These Are The American Cities With The Highest (And Lowest) Rents

While the real-estate market has calmed down from the insanity of 2021 (as mortgage rates have soared to their highest levels in years) the cost of housing remains higher than it was three or four years ago. And while American workers have seen their wages climb in recent months, buoyed by a labor shortage and decidedly “non-transitory” inflation…

…the fact remains that housing is unaffordable for many. And since housing costs (rent, or mortgage) is typically the largest component of a consumer’s fixed monthly costs, fluctuations can have an outsize impact on social cohesion – even more so than rising gas prices.

While the pandemic-inspired savings glut that in turn helped spur demand has slackened, the lack of housing supply has continued to ensure that home prices remain elevated and the market for homes remains tight enough to price out first-time buyers.

And after rents plunged during the early days of the pandemic as workers fled cities (and millennials moved back into their parents’ suburban basements en masse), data show that while rent increases didn’t exactly move in tandem with home prices, landlords are finally starting to hike rents as they demand a greater return on their investments.

But rents aren’t rising uniformly everywhere. A recent report from Stessa found that the states with the most unaffordable rents are typically coastal states like Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, and New York.

In these expensive locations, median rents can approach or top $2,000 a month, while a studio apartment can cost more than a typical 3- or 4-bedroom house in other parts of the country.

On the other end of the spectrum, Arkansas is the most affordable state for renters at $881 per month, approximately one-third of the median rent cost in the most expensive state, Hawaii ($2,537).

Using an analysis of data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau, the organization broke down the most affordable small and medium-size metro areas.

Finally, here’s a breakdown of the 15 most expensive large metros, ranked from least to most expensive, courtesy of Stessa’s data.

15. Austin.

14. Orlando

13. Portland

12. Miami-Fort Lauderdale

11. Denver

10. Sacramento

9. Riverside

8. Washington DC

7. NYC

6. Seattle

5. San Diego

4. LA

3. Boston

2. San Francisco

1. San Jose