US home rental prices climb 4.3 percent nationally, putting more financial pressure on renters

Home rental prices are climbing across much of the United States — with the biggest gains coming from not from New York or San Francisco but Jackson, Mississippi, and Portland, Maine.

Real estate data firm Zillow said Tuesday that prices nationally climbed a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent in May from a year ago. Rents still are rising at double-digit rates in Denver, San Francisco and San Jose, California, with their job opportunities drawing new residents at a faster pace than construction can match.

But two smaller cities led the gains in May. Houses in the Mississippi capital of Jackson are renting monthly for $1,169, a 22.7 percent yearly increase. On the northeastern end of the United States, rental prices in Portland, Maine have shot up 17.4 percent.