44 out of 50 largest US metros experienced rent growth outpacing wage growth since before the pandemic, according to StreetEasy and Zillow.

44 out of 50 largest US metros have seen rent growth surpass wage growth since before the pandemic, according to a report by rental site StreetEasy and its parent company Zillow. Rent increases have outpaced wages in these metro areas due to a lack of available homes for purchase, leading to higher mortgage rates. As a result, the income needed to comfortably afford rent has increased by 31.5% since pre-pandemic times, with U.S. rents growing 1.5 times faster than wages since 2019.