(The Center Square) – Coloradans renting in large metropolitan areas paid the highest increase in rent prices in the nation since 2020, according to research.

Colorado renters paid 54 percent more in rent compared to 2020, according to MovingFeedback, an online company assisting with local and long-distance moves. Data on the major metropolitan statistical areas of all states from Zillow was analyzed to provide the ranking.

During the first three months of 2020, the average rent in Colorado’s major metropolitan statistical areas was $2,439.56, according to the report. During the first three months of 2023, the average rent in the areas was $3,757.93. The $1,318.37 increase was 4.5 times higher than the state with the lowest increase, West Virginia.

“Rent demand is strong in the U.S. with rising homeownership costs,” according to a statement from MovingFeedback. “It is estimated that there is a shortage of 7.3 million affordable rental homes for those with low incomes. This paired with rising inflation means that rent prices have continued to soar.”

A report by Rent.com found the average rent in Denver to be $2,724, up 3.19 percent from last year but down 2.62 percent compared to April. Denver didn’t make the list of Rent.com’s top-10 areas with the greatest rent increase in a year-over-year comparison. Providence, R.I., Raleigh, N.C., Indianapolis, Ind., and Charlotte, N.C., all had double-digit average percentage increases in rent compared to last year.

The national median rent was $1,967 in April, down 4.19 percent from a peak of $2,053 in August 2022, according to Rent.com. It also found rents increased 16.33 percent since April 2021, an annual rate of 8.17 percent or $276.

Research by the Common Sense Institute found the affordability of purchasing a home in the Denver metropolitan area is near record lows. During the last 11 years, the cost of purchase price plus mortgage interest for an average-priced home increased 112 percent, with most of the rise happening during the last three years.

The research group also found household incomes haven’t kept pace with rising housing costs. The average hourly wage increased 38 percent, from $26.04 to $59, between January 2013 and February 2023. When considering the rapid increase in the cost of housing, the number of hours of work to pay for the median mortgage payment increased from 46 to 98 hours, a 113 percent increase.

Florida had a 46.7 percent increase in rent prices the last three years, according to the MovingFeedback research. Renters in Florida’s major metropolitan statistical areas saw the average rent increase from $1,448.43 in 2020 to $2,126.06, a $677.63 increase.

“This data reveals huge disparities in pricing across the U.S. with cities in Colorado and Florida seeing rent increase by around 50 percent, compared to states like West Virginia and Iowa, which have seen average increases below 15 percent over the past three years,” according to the MovingFeedback statement.