These are the fastest growing Twin Cities suburbs for renters
Figures from property site RentCafe have revealed the fastest growing renter populations among Twin Cities suburbs over the past five years.
Seeing the biggest growth in that time is the east metro suburb of Woodbury, which has seen a 44 percent increase in renters between 2011 and 2016.
This apparent demand may have contributed to a 20 percent rise in the cost of renting in Woodbury over that time, though this was a smaller increase than some of the other Twin Cities suburbs.
Apple Valley, which saw the third-highest increase in renters over the same period, also saw the cost of rent rise 29 percent.
There was only one Twin Cities suburb, Little Canada, which saw a decline in renters over the same period, dropping a single percentage point during that time.
Suburbs tend to offer a cheaper rental alternative to renting in Minneapolis, in particular.
Despite a decline in rental prices last year, the Pioneer Press reports it still costs on average of a hefty $1,382-a-month for a one-bedroom and $1,892 for a two-bedroom rental property in Minneapolis.
RentCafe has slightly different figures for Minneapolis, finding the average one-bedroom costs $1,248, while a two-bedroom goes for $1,690.
Things are cheaper in St. Paul, where Adobo.com figures pegged rents at $1,090 for a one-bedroom and $1,369 for a two-bedroom.
House prices remain high, particularly among starter homes, in the Twin Cities, with BMTN reporting last month that homes that are on sale for sub-$250,000 are being snapped up at terrific pace, often in excess of asking price.
Renting tends to work out as being more expensive than a monthly mortgage payment in the Twin Cities, albeit without the pressure of having to raise a sum for a downpayment.
There are a handful of places where renting is cheaper than mortgage payments, as the Business Journal reported last month.
However, considering two of these places are Spring Park ($270 less than mortgage) on Lake Minnetonka, and Edina ($227 less than a mortgage), this says more about how expensive it is to buy property there, rather than suggesting their rent prices are cheap.
By contrast, mortgage payments in the North Minneapolis zip codes of 55411 and 55412 are $517 and $507 less than rent payments, respectively.