Apartment rents are rising across the country, but those on the bottom of the income spectrum are really feeling the heat.
People in the lowest quartile of median income — those who earned less than $43,302 annually — grappled with average rent increases that were 10.3 percent higher than those in the highest income bracket, or those who earned at least $69,804 in 2017. That’s according to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which analyzed Zillow data from October 2017 through October 2024.
That average rent increase was greater than those faced by renters who earned more. Those in the second-lowest income bracket experienced an average rent increase that was 7.6 percent greater than the highest earners; those in the second-highest income bracket saw an average rent increase that was 3.2 percent higher than the highest earners.
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In June, the average asking rent in the U.S. ticked up by 0.9 percent compared to the year before, according to data from Yardi Matrix. However, this growth rate is slowing — between 2013 and 2019, asking rents climbed on average by 1.8 percent in the second quarter of those years.
Still, the nationwide housing crunch has made affordability an issue for many renters. Half of renters are considered “cost burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their yearly income on rent, according to census figures from last year. More than 56 percent of Black or African American alone renter households are in this category, compared to 43 percent Asian alone and 47 percent white alone.
Adding to a metro’s housing stock helped to ease rental spikes, particularly for older and less-expensive apartments, according to Pew’s analysis, which found that every 10 percent of growth in a market’s apartment stock correlated to rents rising by 5 percent less. But just one-fifth of the markets Pew analyzed saw unit growth of at least 10 percent during this time frame.
For instance, rents across all types of apartments fell from 2023 to 2024 in Austin. However, they fell the most — by 11 percent — in Class C buildings, which are typically older and outdated properties.