SmartAsset recently conducted a study to find out in which cities rents are increasing the most and the fastest. Based on 2013 median household incomes, 2016 median household incomes, 2013 average rent and 2016 average rent, SmartAsset determined the top 25 cities with the biggest increases in rent.

In order of least rent increase to greatest rent increase, the top 25 cities are Tulsa, San Jose, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Memphis, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Phoenix, Sacramento, Baltimore, San Diego, Long Beach, Atlanta, Nashville, Columbus, Minneapolis, Oakland, Houston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland and New Orleans at No. 1.

Atlanta takes the No. 12 spot on the list with a 2013 fair market rent of $1,214 compared to 2016’s $1,576.  Percent of median household income in 2013 was 31.3 percent and is now at 35.1 percent. This means Atlanta has experienced a 3.8 percent change in rent.

Some other key findings of the study:

• Income is important when thinking about these changes. San Francisco, where the average rental is $3,800 monthly, may seem outlandishly expensive to Atlantans. However, the average San Francisco household earned over $103,000 in 2016 compared to $26,000 in 2013, which means the rent load has actually lightened in the Bay Area.
• In New Orleans, however, average rental prices grew 36 percent while the average household income grew only 5.6 percent, which means the burden of rent has worsened for New Orleans residents.
• Five of the top 16 cities in the United States with the biggest increase in rent are in California. Los Angeles takes the No. 6 spot, Oakland is No. 8, Long Beach is No. 13, San Diego is fourteenth and Sacramento is sixteenth.

See the full review here. Check back with us daily for more news on the housing economy at www.AtlantaRealEstateForum.com.