Will rent become unaffordable in 10 years?
July - Over the past 5 years, average rents have hit record highs in almost every major US metro area. Data from Spareroom, the leading roommate matching site, suggests that in 10 years most major US metro areas could become unaffordable for the average renter, if rents continue to rise at the same rate.
SpareRoom compared the average monthly roommate rents in key metro areas* in the past five years (Q1 2024 and Q1 2019), which revealed that in 18 of the 27 cities, rents had increased by at least a quarter. Every metro area, bar San Francisco/Bay Area, saw rents rise by double digits, with 8 seeing rents up by 40% or more over the period. In many cases, it's cities with historically more affordable rents where the biggest shifts are happening. Riverside (51%) and Phoenix (48%) saw the largest increases of all major US metro areas.
The 10 biggest rent increases:
- Riverside - 51%
- Phoenix - 48%
- Las Vegas - 43%
- Tampa - 42%
- San Diego - 41%
- Miami - 40%
- Charlotte - 40%
- Virginia Beach - 40%
- Philadelphia - 39%
- Orlando - 38%
The situation is already dire. A 2023 SpareRoom survey** of 1,175 US renters revealed that 98% said they were concerned about the current state of the rental market, with high rents being their biggest concern (86%). 90% said that the housing available was out of their budget and a third said they'd already turned down a job offer to avoid having to move (32%).
Matt Hutchinson, spokesperson for SpareRoom comments: “Roommate rents are a great indicator of how renters in general are coping, as they're usually the most affordable living situation available to people. That means if rents are rising fast for roommates, people are struggling at the lower end of the housing spectrum, which can only filter upwards.
That not only has a huge impact on individuals, but it's also incredibly worrying for the economic growth of the country as a whole. The number one reason people move is for work, but if people are staying put to avoid massive rent hikes, the US workforce becomes inflexible, making growth through jobs incredibly difficult.”
Average monthly roommate rents in key metro areas in the past five years (Q1 2024 and Q1 2019):
| Metro areas | Average roommate rent (Q1 2024) | % change over 5 years |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside | $1,017 | 50.7 |
| Phoenix | $941 | 48.2 |
| Las Vegas | $879 | 42.7 |
| Tampa | $966 | 42.1 |
| San Diego | $1,293 | 41.3 |
| Miami | $1,258 | 40.2 |
| Charlotte | $883 | 40.2 |
| Virginia Beach | $855 | 39.9 |
| Philadelphia | $954 | 38.7 |
| Orlando | $933 | 38.2 |
| Raleigh | $816 | 34.2 |
| Boston | $1,352 | 31.5 |
| Denver | $1,066 | 31.3 |
| Austin | $900 | 31.2 |
| Chicago | $1,028 | 28.3 |
| Washington D.C. | $1,203 | 28 |
| Sacramento | $994 | 25.7 |
| Houston | $830 | 25.4 |
| Seattle | $1,040 | 23.2 |
| Portland | $872 | 20.4 |
| San Antonio | $725 | 20.2 |
| Baltimore | $901 | 20 |
| Los Angeles | $1,331 | 18.8 |
| New York | $1,489 | 18.6 |
| Atlanta | $871 | 18.5 |
| Dallas | $819 | 14.1 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | $1,263 | 0.4 |
***
Notes to editors
*SpareRoom data was used for the average monthly roommate rent (Q1 2024, Q1 2019) for each of the top 27 metro areas↩
**A survey of 1,175 SpareRoom renters in the US on their experience of the rental market, February 2023↩