Seattle Renters Take the Biggest Wallet Hits

The average rent in Seattle reached $2,075 in July, above the US average of $1,409 (credit: Equity Residential).

SEATTLE—Seasonal demand and increased activity are offsetting the wave of new apartments opened this year so far, translating into an even but moderately strong yearly growth across all apartment sizes. The national average rent reached an all-time high of $1,409 in July, up by 2.8% year-over-year ($39), and by 0.2% ($3) month-over-month, according to a RentCafe monthly rent report with data compiled from rents charged in the 250 largest US cities.

The biggest increases were in renter mega-hubs, Orlando (7.7%), Las Vegas (6.4%) and Phoenix (6.2%), while San Antonio (1.6%), Manhattan (1.7%) and Washington, DC (2%) had the slowest growing rents. Renters in Los Angeles, Tampa and Seattle took the biggest wallet hits, with the largest net amount increases during the year at an above-average pace.