Rent is rising in America’s most unexpected city, with monthly charges increasing the fastest in one particular Northeastern city — even faster than in major metropolises like New York or Boston.
Data from real estate market firm Zillow suggests that rents are growing faster in Hartford, Connecticut than in any other major market, followed closely by Cleveland and Louisville.
Rents have increased 7.8 percent over the past year in Hartford, far more than any other major market.
This comes at a time when rents have emerged as a key driver of inflation, with Federal Reserve officials labeling them the “biggest obstacle” to taming the economy.
Rent is rising in the most unexpected city in the Northeast United States. The city of Hartford is seen
Rents are rising faster in Hartford, pictured, than in any other major market
Cleveland, Ohio, located on the shores of Lake Erie, ranked second with rents increasing 7.2 percent.
In the heart of the country, Louisville, Kentucky, remains a popular place to rent a home with prices soaring 6.8 percent over the past year.
The northeastern city of Providence, Rhode Island, located halfway between New York and Boston, has rents that increased year-over-year by 6.3 percent, while the Midwestern city of Milwaukee rounds out the top five with rents that increased 5.7 percent compared to 2023.
“More people move during the summer, which causes the rental market to heat up,” said Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow.
‘Renters are drawn to more affordable areas in the Northeast and Midwest. Relocating to New York City or Boston from places like Hartford or Providence may have been a deterrent before, but in this new era of remote and hybrid work, the savings seem worth it for many renters, even if it means an occasional painful commute.’
The Mark Twain Home and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut
Cleveland, Ohio, located on the shores of Lake Erie, ranked second with rents up 7.2 percent.
In the heart of the country, Louisville, Kentucky, remains a popular place to rent a home, with prices soaring 6.8 percent over the past year.
The most expensive cities in the country are on both coasts, with New York City being the most expensive, with a typical rent of $3,470, and the median asking rent in Manhattan being $4,400.
The Silicon Valley city of San Jose, California, comes in second with a typical rent of $3,430, followed by Boston at $3,130.
California coastal cities San Francisco ($3,119) and San Diego ($3,083) rank fourth and fifth among the most expensive cities to rent in the country.
Los Angeles is likely to break the $3,000-a-month barrier if current rates of rent growth continue.
Nationwide, the typical rent is $2,054, according to ZORI. This represents a 3.5% increase over last year, the fastest annual growth since last July.
The cities with the most expensive rents in the country are on both coasts, with New York City, above, being the most expensive, with a typical rent of $3,470 and the median asking rent in Manhattan at $4,400.
The city of San Jose in Silicon Valley, California, is the second most expensive city in the country to rent, with a typical rent of $3,430. Boston ranked third at $3,130.
Earlier this year, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee warned that rising rents and mortgage rates had become a key driver of inflation.
“Housing is the biggest hurdle,” Goolsbee was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
‘We thought we basically understood the short-term mechanical model of how much housing inflation should fall.
“And it hasn’t come down as fast as we thought it would at this point.”
U.S. inflation cooled in June for a third straight month, a sign that the worst price increases in four decades are gradually fading and could soon prompt interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
In a better-than-expected report, consumer prices fell 0.1 percent from May to June after holding steady the previous month, the Labor Department said Thursday.
It was the first monthly decline in headline inflation since May 2020, when the economy came to a standstill due to the pandemic.
Compared with a year earlier, prices rose 3 percent in June, a slower rate than the 3.3 percent annual rate recorded in May.
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