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After falling precipitously during the height of the pandemic, rents have bounced back, according to a July report from Realtor.com. In fact, rental prices are at an all-time high from coast to coast.
George Ratiu, senior economist at Realtor.com, said rent spikes in areas like Florida and the rest of the Sun Belt might be the most surprising to some people.
"Cities like Jacksonville and Orlando are traditionally quite affordable -- and historically, places where young professionals might go to start their careers," he told CNET. "But their business-first approach toward the pandemic left them with relatively strong economies and a large influx of residents."
Below, check out the 12 cities with the biggest percentage rent increase over the past year. For more, learn how renters can save on utilities and learn whether you should buy a home now or wait.
Why cities are seeing big rent spikes
Increasing rents are a sign that cities are returning as desirable destinations for professionals, said Realtor.com economist George Ratiu.
"The pandemic is receding, at least the regulatory and legislative response to it," Ratiu told CNET.
Texas and Florida, in particular, "had really fast rebounds," he added. Both states had multiple metro areas in the top dozen year-over-year rental increases nationwide.
A separate study from RentCafe also found South and Central Florida were the most in-demand markets for renters. It examined criteria like how many days apartments sat vacant, how many prospective renters applied for each unit, what percentage of renters renewed their lease and the percentage of apartments that were occupied.
Miami-Dade County emerged as the nation's most competitive rental market, according to RentCafe's report.
But Raitu said rents in cities that had more drastic shutdowns -- like Boston, Los Angeles and New York -- are rebounding, too.
According to Realtor.com's findings, four out of five of the most expensive cities in which to rent a one-bedroom apartment are in California -- San Jose ($3,324), San Diego ($3,182), San Francisco ($3,171) and Los Angeles ($3,051) -- with New York City ($2,989) the lone outlier.
Read more: How COVID Accelerated a Shift That Could Put New Cities at the Forefront
"The allure of cities has not gone away," Raitu said. "The pandemic cast a long shadow on densely populated areas, but people are on the move again."
A shortage of housing stock and higher interest rates have also made renting more attractive. Even with rents reaching new highs, renting is still more affordable than buying a starter home in 38 of the 50 largest US metro areas.
Nationwide, the average mortgage on a first home in June was 30% higher than the typical rent payment.
Cities with the biggest rent increases
12. New York City
![A restaurant on New York's Lower East Side]()
The average rent in Manhattan rose more than 20% over last year, topping $5,000 for the first time.
Busà Photography/Getty Images
In the New York metro area -- which encompasses all five boroughs, as well as Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey -- the median rent on a one-bedroom apartment reached $2,693 in June 2022, a touch over 18% over last year.
Not all neighborhoods are equal: According to a separate market report by Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel, the average rental in Manhattan topped $5,000 in June for the first time ever. That's more than 20% higher than June 2021, when $3,922 was the average.
11. San Antonio
![Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio.]()
Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio.
F11photo/Getty Images
Median rents in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area rose just over 18% to reach $1,296 a month.
Occupancy rates are at 92.6%, the second highest in Texas after Dallas' 93.2%, according to research from Apartment Data.
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