QuoteWizard study: Average Arkansas apartment rent raised 25% since 2020, but hikes slowing

FILE – A “For Rent” sign is displayed outside a building in Philadelphia, June 22, 2022. The cost of renting an apartment is easing after …

FILE – A “For Rent” sign is displayed outside a building in Philadelphia, June 22, 2022. The cost of renting an apartment is easing after skyrocketing in recent years, though it remain painfully high for many Americans. The U.S. median rent rose 2.4% in January 2023 from a year earlier to $1,942, the lowest annual increase since June 2021, according to data from Rent, which tracks listings for apartment and rental houses. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

by: Alex Kienlen

Posted: May 15, 2023 / 11:13 AM CDT

Updated: May 15, 2023 / 11:13 AM CDT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The rapid increase in apartment rental rates in Arkansas during the pandemic is just beginning to slow, according to one study.

Insurance comparison site QuoteWizard released a study Monday showing that rent in Arkansas has increased 25% since 2020. The good news is Arkansas has the fourth-lowest rent in the nation, with an average apartment rent of $742.

According to the study, Arkansas rent has gone up 20% since 2021. Since 2022 apartment rent in the Natural State has increased by a comparatively small 10%.

Before the pandemic, rent grew nationally at about 4% a year, according to the Zillow Observed Rent Index.

The most significant rent increase in the study’s 2020-to-now time frame was in New Mexico, which saw a 38% hike. North Dakota had the lowest change in rent for the same period, with a 3% increase.