04/20/2024

Rent Hikes Heap More Woes on Southern California’s Housing, Homeless Crisis

The cost of renting a home or apartment in Los Angeles and Orange counties has skyrocketed 5.8 percent in the last year.

The latest rent hike is the highest since 2005 and has increased at the fastest pace in 14 years, according to the Consumer Price Index calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A year ago, the CPI reported rent had jumped 4.7 percent. The CPI polls consumers in contrast to other rent measurements that are derived from landlord surveys to track rent costs.

The average cost of renting an apartment in both counties is now about $2,000 a month or more, depending on the area, according to the website RentCafe.

Neighboring counties of San Bernardino and Riverside also saw rental properties surge 4.3 percent since last July, according to the CPI.

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