The report shows that Miami's median monthly rental rate for a one-bedroom unit is $2,630, while a two-bedroom unit goes for roughly $3,550. In Boston, the median rent for a one-bedroom unit is $2,530 a month, and $2,990 for a two-bedroom unit.
When the pandemic began in March of 2020, Zumper found that Miami rents were the tenth highest in the nation, but in the space of two years, rent hikes in the Magic City have been nothing short of...magic, surpassing nearly every West Coast city (except for San Francisco), Washington, DC., and now Beantown.
"The Magic City’s ascent has been nothing short of astounding," the report notes.
A new study shows that Miami has overtaken cities like Boston, San Jose, and Los Angeles as the third-priciest U.S. city for renters.
Miami's rise to the top of Zumper's national rent report is a testament to the region's affordable-housing crisis. Even before the pandemic, studies showed that Miami residents are some of the most rent-burdened folks in America and that the rent here is simply too damn high.
Zumper's report notes that Miami's rent hike falls into a larger trend of rising housing costs across Florida. In the past year, other major metropolitan areas in the state have seen major increases in median rent. For instance, rent in Tampa has risen by roughly 37.2 percent, and rent in Orlando has increased by roughly 37.7 percent.
In Miami, rents for one- and two-bedroom units have increased by roughly 38 percent since last year, according to Zumper's data. Close-in suburbs have seen year-over-year rent growth of roughly 40 percent.
Nicole Herrera moved to Boston from Miami last year after spending several years living in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Edgewater. She says she paid $2,400 a month. Now the doctoral student at Boston University School of Public Health pays $2,150 for a studio apartment in central Boston.
But in spite what the study shows, she says Boston still feels more expensive than Miami.
"Most people here — you can't live by yourself because it's just that expensive," Herrera tells New Times. "So I know most students that come in have roommates, and they're typically sharing a four-bedroom, one-bath [unit] or four-bedroom, two-bath [unit], and they're still paying about $1,200 each."
Though rent is increasing in many places, it's also going down in a few cities in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, according to Zumper. If you were looking for a sign to move to Des Moines, Milwaukee, or Seattle, this is it.
