Biggest Rent Inflation Jump In 42 Years Hits Southland: Reports

LOS ANGELES, CA — Southern California renters are facing an incredibly over-saturated and expensive housing market in 2022 as inflation remains high across all sectors.

The price of rent in Los Angeles County jumped 16 percent in 2022 as compared to 2021, according to the Los Angeles Times. The average rent price in Orange County is 18 percent higher than last year, according to the Orange County Register.

The Inland Empire's average rent price rose 17.4 percent in 2022 as compared to early 2021, according to the Orange County Register.

Rent inflation in Los Angeles and Orange County made its biggest year-over-year increase since 1980, the Press Enterprise reported. Nationally, the rate of rent inflation hasn't climbed so much in a single year since 1948.

Inflation across the United States eased in April as compared to March's inflation rates, but prices across all sectors remained 8.3 percent higher than April 2021, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Increases in the price of shelter lead the pack alongside food, airline and vehicle price inflation. Nationwide, 2022 saw the biggest year-over-year jump in rent prices since 1948, according to the Press Enterprise.

Couple this price increase with extreme scarcity and the result is an incredibly difficult market for renters.

The number of available apartments in Los Angeles County is lower than it's been in 20 years, while Orange County and the Inland Empire sit near pre-pandemic records, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Southern California rental market has always been competitive, but the pandemic has made finding a place even tougher, experts told the Los Angeles Times.

"Everyone is just battling for the same places," new Los Angeles resident Anna Maciaszek told the Los Angeles Times.