Kent apartment rents up 18% compared to same time last year

Apartment rents in Kent are up 18% compared to the same time last year and increased 1.8% in May compared to April.

Median rents in Kent stand at $1,462 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,885 for a two-bedroom, according to the latest monthly report from apartmentlist.com.

This is the fifth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in December 2021. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 15.2%, as well as the national average of 15.3%.

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 metro area with a two-bedroom median of $2,383; the city has also seen rent growth of 22.4% over the past year, the fastest in the area, according to apartmentlist.com.

Lakewood has the least expensive rents, with a two-bedroom median of $1,421; rents grew 0.8% over the past month and 10.0% 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 15.2% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 12.2% in Vancouver and 10.0% in Spokane.

Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,885 is above the national average of $1,320, according to apartmentlist.com. Nationwide, rents have grown by 15.3% over the past year compared to the 18.0% rise in Kent.

While Kent’s rents rose sharply over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including New York City (+29.5%), Phoenix (+20.5%), and Austin (+19.2%).

Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Kent than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median two-bedroom rent of $1,278, where Kent is nearly one-and-a-half times that price.