Rent prices have risen 22% since Biden and Harris took office

The cost of rent has risen 22% since the Democratic Biden-Harris administration took office in January 2021, according to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Likewise it has also increased in recent months. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rent has increased 0.4% in the last four months, reaching an annual increase of 5.4%. The rise of this cost is one of the highest in the last 12 months.

On the other hand, through independent research, real estate listing site Zumper revealed that rent increased 1.2% for one- and two-bedroom homes, with national median rents of $1,504 and $1,865, respectively.

The majority of the population does not earn enough to pay rent

A Redfin report revealed that only 39% of U.S. renters earn enough money to pay rent for a median-priced apartment.

The study details that the typical U.S. household earns $11,400 less in income than the total needed to pay rent. 

According to the report's calculations, "The average American who pays rent to have somewhere to live earn an estimated $54,712 a year. That's 17.3% less, or $11,408, than the $66,120 a renter must earn to pay the monthly rent for the median-priced U.S. apartment ($1,653)."

Rent is 'affordable' if a renter spends no more than 30% of their income

The report notes that the price of an "apartment is affordable if a renter spends no more than 30% of their income paying rent, which is the same as saying their annual income is at least 40 times their monthly rent."

The amount of money renters must earn to afford a median-priced apartment is at the highest level since October 2022, increased 0.8% year over year and 22.9% since May 2019. 

Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari commented, "Many U.S. renters are and will continue to be burdened by the cost of having a roof over their head, and unlike homeowners, they are not building wealth through rising property values."

The worst places to rent

The most expensive cities to rent an apartment are New York and Miami. In these places, a "typical renter earns about 40% less than he or she needs to pay for the apartment."

The study notes that New York is the place where rents are the most expensive. This year, rent is up 9.2% over last year. Moreover, there, the average renter earns an estimated $67,358 a year. That's 43.5% less than the $119,120 needed to pay for the median-priced apartment.

New York is followed by Miami (renters earn 42.2% less than what they would need to afford rent), followed by Boston (38.7% less), Los Angeles (36.1% less) and Riverside, Calif. (30.8% less).