These U.S. cities have seen the biggest rent increases since 2020

If buying a home today is financially out of reach for many Americans, affording the rent may also seem like an increasingly tall order.

In the 50 largest U.S. cities, the rent for a one-bedroom apartment climbed an average of $457 per month, or 41%, to $1,578 between 2020 and 2025, according to a recent study from loan marketplace LendingTree. Two-bedroom rents have surged an average of $505, or 37%, to roughly $1,858 per month over the same period.

Since 2019, rents nationally have risen 1.5 times faster than wages on average, according to a 2024 report from online real estate brokers Zillow and StreetEasy.

"If your income is rising at the same time your rent is, maybe that extra expense is no big deal," Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree