The average U.S. rents in December were sluggish, ending the year at $1,474 for the month following a 3% annual increase, according to RentCafé’s Year-End Rent Report. This means the average American renter paid 0.1% less compared to November.
Nationally, the yearly growth rate by the end of 2019 was slow compared to previous years, when it was up by 3.2%, according to apartment rent data from Yardi Matrix. In net dollars, renters paid $43 more per month than they did in December 2018.
In New Jersey, nearly every city that RentCafé analyzed had rents increase over the year, with many up by more than 5% — Irvington took the lead there with a 20% increase over the year and average rents of $1,134. In comparison, rents in West New York dropped by 4% to $2,406. Generally, rents in the Garden State are higher than the national average.
The fastest-growing rents were in North Plainfield, where apartment prices increased by 1.2% month-over-month, or $17, followed by Toms River, up by 0.8% or $11 more pricey, and Lindenwold, up by 0.7% to $995. Old Bridge showed the largest decrease, 2.8% or $39, compared to November.
The cheapest city to rent an apartment of those analyzed was Lindenwold, with an average rent of $995. Coming in second cheapest was Camden ($1,016), followed by Burlington ($1,051), Trenton ($1,108) and Irvington ($1,134).
The state’s most expensive city to rent is Hoboken, with an average price of $3,515, followed by Edgewater ($3,175), Weehawken ($3,003), Jersey City ($2,930) and Fort Lee ($2,586).
Other notables include:
- Over the year, Jersey City’s rent mildly increased (0.8% or $22) to $2,930;
- Newark rents are among the most affordable ($1,222), even with a 3.8% annual growth;
- The average rent in Paterson hit $1,259 after a 3% increase over the year;
- Elizabeth apartments ended the year at $1,295, jumping 5% when compared to December 2018.
