Kent apartment rents keep on climbing higher and higher

Apartment rents in Kent jumped 1.9% in April from the previous month and have increased 17.5% in comparison to the same time last year.

This is the fourth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in December 2021, according to a monthly report by apartmentlist.com. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 16.4%, as well as the national average of 16.3%.

Median rents in Kent stand at $1,552 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,987 for a two-bedroom, according to apartmentlist.com.

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

Bellevue has the most expensive rents in the area, with a two-bedroom median of $2,654; the city has also seen rent growth of 21.5% over the past year, the fastest in the metro area.

Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $1,562; rents grew 1.1% over the past month and 10.9% over the past year.

As rents have increased sharply in Kent, a few large cities nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly. 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 16.4% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 13.6% in Spokane and 12.3% in Vancouver.

Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,987 is above the national average of $1,319. Nationwide, rents have grown by 16.3% over the past year compared to the 17.5% increase in Kent.

While Kent’s rents rose sharply over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including New York City (+31.8%), Phoenix (+23.3%), and Austin (+21.5%).

Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Kent than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median two-bedroom rent of $1,342, where Kent is nearly one-and-a-half times that price.