10 Small Towns Where Rent Is on the Rise

Conventional wisdom says that COVID-19 made urbanites rethink life in major metro areas and take a second look at small-town America. If that’s happening, rents would be sure to rise in tiny towns that suddenly found themselves flush with big-city dollars. 

But even before the virus, some of America’s small-town renters watched as their monthly payments soared and kept soaring in the years leading up to the pandemic. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, GOBankingRates identified 10 towns with populations between 2,500 and 20,000 where median rents rose the most between 2014 and 2019. Although they’re scattered all over the country, two states make the list twice. 

These are America’s tiny towns, villages and hamlets where rents have risen so much, so quickly, that housing costs doubled, tripled or worse in just five short years.

• Population: 3,351
• 2014 median rent: $681
• 2018 median rent: $674
• 2019 median rent: $1,140
• Change 2014 – 2019: 67%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 69%

About 10 miles south of Sedona, you’ll find Cornville, Arizona. Local legend says the town was originally called “Coaneville” but it was misspelled by the Postal Service and the name stuck.

Long before it was a town in Yavapai County, the area was inhabited by the Sinagua Indians, an ancient tribe whose disappearance about 800 years ago still remains a mystery. Today, the unincorporated town — which is counted with neighboring Page Springs in the census — is part of Arizona’s Verde Valley grape-growing region.

• Population: 4,227
• 2014 median rent: $975
• 2018 median rent: $1,096
• 2019 median rent: $1,750
• Change 2014 – 2019: 79%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 60%

Venersborg, Washington, traces its roots to J.C. Lanerberg, a settler who purchased huge swaths of dense forest in what is now rural Southwest Washington. He intended to build a Swedish village that eventually became Venersborg, which translates loosely into “A Haven for Friends.” Those early settlers planted fruit trees, many of which are still standing after more than a century. Besides that, Venersborg is locally famous for its classic one-room schoolhouse.

• Population: 4,045
• 2014 median rent: $618
• 2018 median rent: $678
• 2019 median rent: $1,138
• Change 2014 – 2019: 84%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 68%

Way out in Western Pennsylvania on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest you’ll find the town of Marienville. The wilderness preserve that it borders is a vast expanse of forest that’s home to hundreds of miles of trails. Every May and October, more than 1,000 die-hard ATV enthusiasts descend on the region to put those trails to good use in the Tour-De-Forest leisure ride.

• Population: 3,163
• 2014 median rent: $927
• 2018 median rent: $1,145
• 2019 median rent: $1,922
• Change 2014 – 2019: 107%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 68%

In Santa Cruz County, the tiny town of Amesti is situated on Pinto Lake just across Highway 1 from Monterey Bay. The beach is just to the west of Amesti and the town is surrounded by agricultural land and wetlands, but Amesti is best known for its many parks and natural spaces.

• Population: 3,164
• 2014 median rent: $704
• 2018 median rent: $1,931
• 2019 median rent: $2,036
• Change 2014 – 2019: 189%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 5%

Hidden Springs, Idaho, is such a perfect slice of quintessential small-town America that it has a community barn that residents can rent for weddings and other events. More domesticated than some of the other hardscrabble hamlets on this list, Hidden Springs also has a swim club, pools, a fitness center and boundless open-space activities.

• Population: 3,776
• 2014 median rent: $787
• 2018 median rent: $1,175
• 2019 median rent: $1,940
• Change 2014 – 2019: 147%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 65%

The village of South Russell, Ohio, is situated on the western edge of Geauga County on a stretch of land that’s only four miles long and one mile wide. Consummately rural and authentically Midwestern, it’s characterized by white-steepled churches and open fields scattered with rolled bales of hay. Kids there attend the highly-rated Chagrin Falls School System.

• Population: 3,405
• 2014 median rent: $954
• 2018 median rent: $875
• 2019 median rent: $2,060
• Change 2014 – 2019: 116%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 135%

Located in Preble County near Eaton on the border of Indiana, Lake Lakengren, Ohio, is a gated community on 230 acres of water that is known as one of Ohio’s top fishing spots. The private community is packed with amenities, both indoors and out, including a driving range, a marina, a beach, a brand new pool, a dog park and plenty of playgrounds.

• Population: 2,576
• 2014 median rent: $332
• 2018 median rent: $1,282
• 2019 median rent: $1,331
• Change 2014 – 2019: 301%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 4%

Route 222 and the Oregon Pike split the town of Brownstown, Pennsylvania, down the middle. Located in the Southeastern portion of the state, it’s situated in the Lancaster area. The schools there are highly rated and the median household income is well above the national average. It’s a rural area where far more people own their own homes than rent.

• Population: 6,901
• 2014 median rent: $687
• 2018 median rent: $1,074
• 2019 median rent: $2,059
• Change 2014 – 2019: 200%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 92%

An incorporated municipality only since 1998, Oak Ridge, North Carolina, lies northwest of Guilford County and is governed by a five-person council. It’s known for its quaint village charm, the Oak Ridge Military Academy and the Old Mill of Guilford.

• Population: 7,621
• 2014 median rent: $758
• 2018 median rent: $2,167
• 2019 median rent: $3,016
• Change 2014 – 2019: 298%
• Change 2018 – 2019: 39%

Between rural Minnesota and suburban Minnesota lies Minnestrista, and if rents are rising there more than any other small town in America, it’s likely because the secret is out about what locals have always known. Minnetrista is perched along some of the finest of the state’s many famous lakes. It’s also safe, scenic and naturally beautiful — Niche calls it “one of the best places to live in Minnesota.”

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Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only and may not reflect the exact location of the town.

Methodology: To find 10 small towns where rent is on the rise, GOBankingRates began by looking at all places in the U.S. with a population between 2,500 and 20,000 people according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey five-year population estimates. Then, GOBankingRates used the same source to find the (1) 2019 median gross rent paid, (2) 2018 median gross rent paid and (3) 2014 median gross rent paid in each town. GOBankingRates then calculated (4) the 5-year percent change in median rent between 2014 and 2019 and (5) the one-year percent change in median rent between 2018 and 2019. GOBankingRates then scored all places in the U.S. that met the population criteria on factors (4) and (5) and ranked them against each other to identify ten small towns which have experienced the most dramatic leaps in rent in recent years. Places that were contained within a larger metropolitan statistical area were excluded from the final ranking. All data were collected on and up to date as of April 28, 2021.