Top Cities with the Biggest Rent Growth Within the Last Five Years
Rent prices have been rising all around the nation. If you’ve noticed more and more rental communities popping up around your town, it is likely because construction is trying to keep up with the demand for rental spaces. Additionally, there is a surge of high-income renters, adding to the need for rental supply. We’ve compiled a list of top cities in three size categories (based on population), that have had the most noticeable growth of rent prices over the past five years.
Many of the cities that made the three “top ten” lists are located in California, indicating the ongoing affordability crisis in the state. In most cities highlighted on this list, new construction is struggling to keep pace with demanding, economically booming metropolitan areas. In part, this has been spurring hikes in rent prices in the surrounding suburbs.
Out of large cities, Aurora, CO came out on top with 34.5% growth in rental prices the last 5 years.
Top Large Cities with Highest Rent Growth in the Last 5 Years, Population: >250,000.
| City Name | Price Change Over 5 Years | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora, CO | 34.50% | 325,078 |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 30.80% | 416,427 |
| Stockton, CA | 29.20% | 291,707 |
| Arlington, TX | 28.40% | 365,438 |
| Long Beach, CA | 25.60% | 462,257 |
| Sacramento, CA | 24.60% | 466,488 |
| Mesa, AZ | 24.40% | 439,041 |
| San Jose, CA | 24.10% | 945,942 |
| Tampa, FL | 23.40% | 335,709 |
| Henderson, NV | 22.90% | 257,729 |
Booming city centers continue to get more and more expensive. Renters are struggling to keep up with rent rate growth and have started looking outside their core cities into the suburbs. This is spurring the rent growth in the suburbs of booming metros, such as Aurora, CO, and Stockton, CA. Arizona is also one of the fastest growing economies in the US, and Phoenix in particular, that’s why nearby Mesa, AZ also made our top ten list.
In addition to all the job opportunities, Denver, CO also made our top cities for dating list, making the area and its suburbs all the more attractive to millennial renters.
In the medium range, Salinas, CA took the #1 spot with 53.5% growth in rental prices in the last 5 years.
Top Medium Cities with Highest Rent Growth in the Last 5 Years, Population: 100,000 - 250,000.
| City Name | Price Change Over 5 Years | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Salinas, CA | 53.50% | 150,441 |
| Fairfield, CA | 38.10% | 105,321 |
| Fremont, CA | 37.80% | 214,089 |
| Salem, OR | 37.50% | 154,637 |
| Simi Valley, CA | 36.80% | 124,237 |
| Richmond, CA | 36.30% | 103,701 |
| Vancouver, WA | 36.10% | 161,791 |
| Thornton, CO | 35.50% | 118,772 |
| Moreno Valley, CA | 35.00% | 193,365 |
| Westminster, CO | 34.10% | 106,114 |
Rent rates are rising quickly in the suburbs of growing metros. Renters that work in major California hubs have a chance of finding more affordable rent opportunities in areas nearby, such as Santa Clara, Fremont, and Fairfield. Santa Clara is located near California’s tech hubs and is ever-growing. Job opportunities are abundant in this area, and that is sure to attract a large number of industry professionals causing a rise in demand for rental communities.
Hillsboro, OR took first place for the small city category, with 48.3% growth in rental prices in the last 5 years.
Top Small Cities with Highest Rent Growth in the Last 5 Years, Population: 50,000-100,000.
| City Name | Price Change Over 5 Years | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Hillsboro, OR | 48.30% | 91,611 |
| Renton, WA | 42.40% | 90,927 |
| Roswell, GA | 42.40% | 88,346 |
| Sparks, NV | 42.40% | 90,264 |
| Union City, CA | 40.90% | 69,516 |
| Melbourne, FL | 40.30% | 76,068 |
| Beaverton, OR | 39.90% | 89,803 |
| Marietta, GA | 39.80% | 56,579 |
| Smyrna, GA | 38.70% | 51,271 |
| Kent, WA | 38.30% | 92,411 |
Among the smaller cities, places such as Union City, CA and Hillsboro, OR made the list of fastest growing cities in America. Largely, these currently lesser-populated cities are filling up primarily due to the same reasons as their larger counterparts that we mentioned above. Check out the full list:
Methodology
Apartment List Rent Report data is drawn monthly from the millions of listings on our site. 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom rents are calculated as the median for units available in the specified size and time period. Price changes are calculated using a “same unit” methodology similar to the Case-Shiller “repeat sales” home prices methodology, taking the average price change for units available across both time periods. For top city rankings, we calculated median 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom rents in 100 top cities and then ranked them by 2-bedroom rents.
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