Florida has the highest percentage of cost-burdened renters nationwide

Rent is rising quickly as more people move to the sunshine state. Florida now has the highest percentage of cost-burdened renters nationwide.

Half of all renters in the state spend more than 30% of their income on that monthly check because Florida rent is up 30% since January 2021. That increase puts the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment at about $1,400.

People struggling to make ends meet are quickly being priced out of their homes.

Nick Vinzant is the senior research analyst with Quote-Wizard. He says unless you make at least $62,000 a year, you can’t afford the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Florida. Vinzant believes building more affordable housing is the solution, but that’s easier said than done.

“There’s also very strict housing ordinances and zoning laws, which does not allow for really affordable housing to be built in a lot of areas. And so you have this kind of double-edged sword of more people moving in, and then not being able to build affordable housing at the same time, has really created this massive jump,” said Vinzant.

Prices have skyrocketed in such a short time, and they’re not going back down anytime soon. Vinzant says that’s because of a lack of affordable housing but says you will notice a difference in the rate of change soon. Meaning prices won’t be going up as quickly.

“I think one of the things that Florida really saw is they saw an influx of people moving into the state because they could leave New York City or Los Angeles. And even though they were paying more, they still weren’t paying as much as they were in those other places,” Vinzant said.

Experts believe rent prices could start to stabilize in the coming months.