Renters in these 2 NJ towns are the most overextended in the U.S.

Searching for a place to rent in major cities these days can be a real headache, right? It's like a never-ending cycle of rent prices creeping up while available apartments disappear faster than you can blink.

And none of this, of course, is your imagination. According to a new report from stacker.com,  between 2010 to 2019 rent prices all over the country slowly increased from 2% to about 5% annually.

And then, of course, after the pandemic, we saw a 15% increase in just two years from 2020 to 2022

Now, here in New Jersey and everywhere else in the country, our paychecks haven't been keeping pace with these rising rents.

Places were renters are struggling the most

And that is why we now have this full-blown renters' affordability issue. The old wisdom is to not spend more than 30% of your income, but because of the current economic environment, it’s more and more difficult to live by that rule and so many renters are overextended.

Stacker reports that Census Bureau shows where renters are struggling the most.

Surprise, surprise, New Jersey is in the mix.

Vineland, takes the 10th spot, with people shelling out a hefty 37.1% of their income for rent.

Then, there's Ocean City, NJ, at 14th place, with a not-so-comfy 36.6% of income disappearing into the landlord's wallet. Ouch.

Some cities on the list are suffering worse than others, especially those near big colleges and universities.

The competition for housing in these areas is fierce, which is driving up rent prices faster than a roller coaster. Hang in there, though, because it looks like the rent roller coaster might finally be hitting the brakes, especially in NJ.

Good news for renters?

The small, bright spot is that we see apartments popping up everywhere.

In fact, you’ve probably noticed that apartments are being built in masses and quickly—at the fastest rate in half a century.

The more apartments we get, the more rents go down. So, maybe New Jerseyans will get a break on rent in the coming years. Fingers crossed!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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