Sacramento’s rent spike was among the nation’s highest in 2021. What will 2022 bring?

The typical rent in the Sacramento region went up an astonishing 19.5% in 2021, the fifth-highest increase among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas.

That’s according to new research from Realtor.com, which estimates that the typical rent in the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden Arcade region stood at $2,103 per month at the end of 2021.

To put that into perspective, the typical rent here is the same as the Washington, D.C., region and more expensive than many of the nation’s top destinations, including Nashville, Tennessee, Austin, Texas, Phoenix and Atlanta.

Danielle Hale, the chief economist at Realtor.com, said the company is projecting rent increases will slow down nationally in 2022, to around a 7% spike. She said Sacramento is generally in line with national trends, so the region should expect an increase in that range.

That would mean a considerable calming over 2021, but still above the typical annual increase of around 5%, Hale said.

“Secondary markets” such as Sacramento continue to see big jumps, Hale said. The Riverside area outside Los Angeles had the biggest increase in 2021, at 28.5%. Memphis – considered an alternative to the flashier Nashville – was also in the top five.

“If you look at the areas that have seen the biggest increases, they’re what you might call secondary markets: smaller but not too far away from major tech or job centers,” Hale said.

According to Realtor.com’s data, the median rent for a studio apartment in the Sacramento region is $1,945 per month. One-bedroom apartments typically run at $1,973 per month and two-bedroom rents cost $2,239.