Kent apartment rents jump 2% in March compared to February

Apartment rents in Kent increased 2.0% in March over February, and are up sharply by 16.2% in comparison to the same time last year.

Currently, median rents in Kent stand at $1,523 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,949 for a two-bedroom, according to apartmentlist.com. This is the third straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in December 2021. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 17.8%, as well as the national average of 17.1%.

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

Bellevue has the most expensive rents in the Seattle metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $2,573; the city has also seen rent growth of 20.9% over the past year, the fastest in the area.

Over the past month, Tacoma is the only city in the metro area that has seen rents fall, with a decline of 0.2%. Median two-bedrooms there cost $1,598, while one-bedrooms go for $1,218.

Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle-Tacoma metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,540; rents grew 0.2% over the past month and 11.9% 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 17.8% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 15.8% in Spokane and 13.3% in Vancouver.

Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,949 is above the national average of $1,306. Nationwide, rents have grown by 17.1% over the past year compared to the 16.2% rise in Kent.

While Kent’s rents rose sharply over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including New York City (+33.3%), Phoenix (+25.4%), and Austin (+22.6%).