Boston-Area Renters Saw Some Of The Biggest Rent Increases: Study

BOSTON, MA — The teens were a cruel decade for Boston-area renters, with average rents increasing 49.7 percent between 2010 and 2019, according to a study released this month by Zillow. Boston ranked 25th on the list of metro areas with the biggest rent increases in the past decade, according to Zillow.

Nationally, rents increased every year between 2010 and 2019. Renters spent a combined $4.5 trillion on rent between 2010 and this year. In 2019, they spent $512 billion on rent.

"While the total amount of rent paid has increased each year this decade, that trend is by no means immutable," Zillow Group Economist Joshua Clark said in a statement. "With rental appreciation expected to decrease in the coming year and a homeownership rate that has been ticking up over the past few years, a small or even negative change in total rental spending could be in the cards in the early 2020s."

Boston-area renters paid $11.3 billion in rent in 2019, up 1.4 percent from 2018. That was below the national average increase of 2.3 percent. Between 2010 and 2019, Boston-area renters paid a total of $98.1 billion in rent.

Below are the metro areas with the biggest rent increases between 2010 and this year:

1. Austin, TX: 92.6%
2. Raleigh, NC: 91%
3. Denver, CO: 88.2%
4. Atlanta, GA: 84.5%
5. Orlando, FL: 83.9%
6. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX: 83.7%
7. Nashville, TN: 83.4%
8. Charlotte, NC: 80.3%
9. Seattle, WA: 71.2%
10. Kansas City, MO: 69.1%
11. Houston, TX: 65.8%
12. San Jose, CA: 65.8%
13. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN: 65.6%
14. Tampa, FL: 61.9%
15. Phoenix, AZ: 60.4%
16. San Francisco, CA: 56.4%
17. Washington, DC: 55.6%
18. Jacksonville, FL: 55.6%
19. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL: 54.5%
20. San Diego, CA: 53.6%
21. Portland, OR: 50.8%
22. Columbus, OH: 50.4%
23. Riverside, CA: 49.7%
24. Salt Lake City, UT: 49.1%
25. Boston, MA: 48.7%