Kent apartment rents jump 9.1% compared to same time last year

Kent apartment rents jumped 9.1% in July compared to the same month in 2020.

Kent rents have increased 1.2% over the past month, and are up sharply by 9.1% in comparison to the same time last year, according to apartmentlist.com. Currently, median rents in Kent stand at $1,397 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,788 for a two-bedroom.

This is the fifth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in February. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 6.9%, but trails the national average of 10.3%.

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Kent, but across the entire metro.

Tacoma has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 17.3%. The median two-bedroom there costs $1,616, while one-bedrooms go for $1,231.

Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,565; rents were up 2.8% over the past month and 16.7% over the past year.

Redmond has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,448; rents increased 3.8% over the past month and 8.0% over the past year.

As rents have increased sharply in Kent, large cities nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly, or in some cases, even decline. Compared to most large cities across the country, Kent is less affordable for renters.

Rents increased sharply in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 6.9% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 29.3% in Spokane and 14.3% in Vancouver.

Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,788 is above the national average of $1,219. Nationwide, rents have grown by 10.3% over the past year compared to the 9.1% rise in Kent.

While Kent’s rents rose sharply over the past year, some cities nationwide saw decreases, including San Francisco with a drop of 6.8%.