AARP: The High Costs of Rising Rents (December, 2022)

Being forced to move because of surging rents in the past year has become a common occurrence across America. In 2021, the average rent was 17.6 percent higher than in 2020, according to Apartment List, an online rental listing and data-collection business. And the rates have continued to accelerate this year; in October, the average rent was another 5.9 percent higher than a year earlier.

The impact of all this can be particularly harsh for the 30 percent of Americans over 55 who rent their homes. Financial advisers recommend that housing costs not exceed 30 percent of household income. But more than half of older renters are above that threshold, according to a study by the Urban Institute. And almost a quarter of older renters spend more than half of their income on rent.