ATLANTA — A number of metro Atlanta cities saw significant increases in average rent this year, but one really stood out.
According to an analysis published on Monday by insurance research firm AdvisorSmith, Stockbridge saw rents rise more than any other city in America except for one.
The Henry County city placed second in the top-100 of rising rents, with a 13.8% rise in its weighted average of monthly rent, from $1,306 to $1,412. That placed it behind just Avondale, Ariz.
Stockbridge, however, was not alone by any stretch in the top-100. Newnan was No. 35 (8.2% increase), Marietta was No. 56 (7.0%), Peachtree Corners was No. 58 (6.7%), and Gainesville was No. 85 (5.8%).
Additionally, Georgia cities Augusta (No. 18), Athens (No. 45) and Columbus (No. 82) all made the list.
Going in the other direction, two metro Atlanta cities were actually among the top-100 in declining rents. Dunwoody (No. 75, -3.7%) and Sandy Springs (No. 99, -1.9%) saw rents fall.
AdvisorSmith did not offer an explanation for why rents may have rose or fell in various places, though the trend seemed to indicate part of the rise was due to people moving from high-rent cities like San Francisco, Boston and New York (all in the top-10 for falling rents) to lower-rent suburbs and cities, driving up demand.
While rents rose dramatically in Stockbridge, for instance, at $1,412 its average weighted rent was still much lower than Dunwoody's declining rents ($1,638).
AdvisorSmith said it examined rental prices on Zillow and Apartment list from 540 U.S. cities to build its list. The difference was calculated between the cities' average 2019 rents and November 2020 average rent.