Rent growth is outpacing increases in income across the country – adding to the financial squeeze on tenants.
Average rents have risen by 134.9 percent since 1999, while incomes have gone up by 76.8 percent in the same period, data from Moody’s Analytics reveals.
The stark difference – pushing the cost of living for renters higher – comes amid a separate study which reveals there are just four states in America where average mortgage payments are cheaper than rents.
The Moody’s analysis found that, in 2022, the proportion of American household income needed to rent an average-priced apartment breached 30 percent for the first time in 25 years of tracking the trend. The benchmark, called rent-to-income ratio (RTI), fell slightly at the start of 2023 to 29.6 percent.
The studies follow research published by DailyMail.com on Wednesday that found Hawaii is the least affordable state to live in the US.