10 U.S. Cities That Saw the Biggest Annual Rent Increases and Drops Over One Year

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10 U.S. cities that saw the biggest annual rent increases and drops over one year

Rent is a top expense for many Americans, so increases may disproportionately affect their budget. Between February 2023 and 2024, inflation as a whole went up by 3.15%. While the average rent increase in U.S. major cities was at parity with inflation, some cities saw rent increase as high as 8.0% – and others actually saw rent drop.

To find where rent increased and decreased most, SmartAsset ranked 100 of the largest U.S. cities by the percent increase in the average rent prices over a one-year period.

Key findings

Rent increased by 8.0% in Columbia, South Carolina. This was the highest increase over the last year. Rents currently average $1,438, compared with $1,331 last year. Since pre-pandemic times, the average rent here has risen 43.5% from $1,001.
New York City has the highest rent at $3,393. This is a 3.6% increase over the last year when rent averaged $3,273. Over the last five years, rent has grown a cumulative 19.3% in New York City. Rent is nearly as high in Boston, MA ($3,359); Irvine, CA ($3,335); San Francisco, CA ($3,276) and San Jose, CA ($3,107).
Rent decreased by 3.2% in Austin, TX. Austin saw the largest drop in average rent, going from $1,775 last year to $1,719 this year. In total, nine of the 100 largest cities saw rent slightly decrease, including Portland, OR (-1.1%) and San Francisco, CA (-0.9%).
Rent has increased by more than 50% since pre-pandemic years in four cities. Naples, FL had the highest rent increases over the last five years at 63.1% for a current average rent of $2,972. Knoxville, TN saw 59.1% growth to an average rent of $1,818. Rent in Saint Petersburg, FL now averages $2,053 after a 55.6% climb, and rent in Miami increased 55.0% to $3,067 since February 2020.

Table showing top 20 cities where rent increased the most

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SmartAsset

Top 10 cities where rent increased most

Columbia, SC

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,438
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,331
YoY Change: 8.0%
Change since Feb. 2019: 43.5%

Newark, NJ

Rent, Feb. 2024 $1,982
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,841
YoY Change: 7.6%
Change since Feb. 2019: 36.3%

Wichita, KS

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,028
Rent, Feb. 2023: $955
YoY Change: 7.6%
Change since Feb. 2019: 31.7%

Rochester, NY

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,440
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,339
YoY Change: 7.6%
Change since Feb. 2019: 35.2%

Cincinnati, OH

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,381
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,291
YoY Change: 7.0%
Change since Feb. 2019: 36.3%

Knoxville, TN

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,818
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,699
YoY Change: 7.0%
Change since Feb. 2019: 59.1%

Louisville, KY

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,343
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,256
YoY Change: 6.9%
Change since Feb. 2019: 32.8%

Kansas City, MO

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,358
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,270
YoY Change: 6.9%
Change since Feb. 2019: 35.5%

Cleveland, OH

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,319
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,235
YoY Change: 6.8%
Change since Feb. 2019: 32.3%

Silver Spring, MD

Rent, Feb. 2024: $2,088
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,955
YoY Change: 6.8%
Change since Feb. 2019: 18.7%

10 cities where rent decreased most

Austin, TX

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,719
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,775
YoY Change: -3.2%
Change since Feb. 2019: 21.1%

Oakland, CA

Rent, Feb. 2024: $2,483
Rent, Feb. 2023: $2,515
YoY Change: -1.3%
Change since Feb. 2019: -1.2%

Vancouver, WA

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,747
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,767
YoY Change: -1.2%
Change since Feb. 2019: 29.1%

Portland, OR

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,748
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,766
YoY Change: -1.1%
Change since Feb. 2019: 14.8%

Plano, TX

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,781
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,799
YoY Change: -1.0%
Change since Feb. 2019: 28.1%

San Francisco, CA

Rent, Feb. 2024: $3,276
Rent, Feb. 2023: $3,307
YoY Change: -0.9%
Change since Feb. 2019: -5.3%

San Antonio, TX

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,393
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,404
YoY Change: -0.8%
Change since Feb. 2019: 20.6%

Lawrenceville, GA

Rent, Feb. 2024: $2,076
Rent, Feb. 2023: $2,085
YoY Change: -0.4%
Change since Feb. 2019: 38.3%

Atlanta, GA

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,949
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,953
YoY Change: -0.2%
Change since Feb. 2019: 25.4%

Marietta, GA

Rent, Feb. 2024: $1,772
Rent, Feb. 2023: $1,772
YoY Change: 0.0%
Change since Feb. 2019: 34.8%

Data and methodology

Rental data comes from Zillow's Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI). We compared data from May 2022 and May 2023 that was smoothed and seasonally adjusted for all homes plus multifamilies for 100 of the largest U.S. cities.