Rent increases have outpaced wage growth in major cities across the United States since 2019, according to a recent report. In 44 out of the nation’s 50 largest metros, rents have risen on average 1.5 times faster than wages. New York City stands out as the city with the most significant gap between rent and wage growth.
Data from Zillow, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and StreetEasy’s own analysis reveal that in New York City, rents increased by 8.6% between 2022 and 2023, while wages only saw a 1.2% increase. This 7.4 percentage point difference in growth is the largest among the top 10 cities facing this disparity.
Boston and Cincinnati follow closely behind, with wage-rent growth gaps of 6.8 and 6.4 percentage points, respectively. Notably, most of these cities are located along the East Coast, with Memphis, Tennessee being the westernmost city among them.
However, when examining data from 2019, the trend shifts, and the largest gaps between wage and rent growth are observed in the South and Midwest. Cities like Atlanta, Phoenix, and Kansas City, Missouri, experienced significant disparities during this period.
Tampa, Florida, emerged as the city with the largest gap between wage and rent growth from 2019 to 2023, with a staggering 34.7 percentage point difference. Wages in Tampa increased by 15.3%, while rents surged by 50% over the same period.
