The top 10 US cities where rents have increased the most

Some U.S. cities are known for expensive housing: In San Francisco, the median rent is $4,500. In New York, it's $2,875. That's compared to the national median of $1,637.

And while rents in other cities haven't quite reached those levels, they are certainly increasing. That's according to financial website SmartAsset, which used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to identify where prices are trending upward.

"To rank the places with the largest rent increases," the study says, "we looked at 50 U.S. cities," and compared their 2014 rent as a percent of household income to their 2017 rent under the same parameters. "To create the final rankings, we subtracted the 2017 rent as a percent of household income from the 2014 rent as a percent of household income."

The cities where the relative cost of rent went up the most ranked first. The cities on the other end of the spectrum ranked last.

2014 fair market rent: $792
2014 percent of median household income: 36.9
2017 fair market rent: $1,180
2017 percent of median household income: 46.7
Percent change: 9.8

2014 fair market rent: $1,162
2014 percent of median household income: 39.3
2017 fair market rent: $1,492
2017 percent of median household income: 48.4
Percent change: 9.1

2014 fair market rent: $1,580
2014 percent of median household income: 34.8
2017 fair market rent: $2,110
2017 percent of median household income: 41.8
Percent change: 7

2014 fair market rent: $1,388
2014 percent of median household income: 42.7
2017 fair market rent: $1,615
2017 percent of median household income: 48.7
Percent change: 6.1

2014 fair market rent: $1,003
2014 percent of median household income: 24.7
2017 fair market rent: $1,393
2017 percent of median household income: 29.4
Percent change: 4.7

2014 fair market rent: $1,055
2014 percent of median household income: 23
2017 fair market rent: $1,343
2017 percent of median household income: 26.3
Percent change: 3.3

2014 fair market rent: $1,019
2014 percent of median household income: 25.9
2017 fair market rent: $1,397
2017 percent of median household income: 29
Percent change: 3.1

2014 fair market rent: $1,054
2014 percent of median household income: 36.1
2017 fair market rent: $1,245
2017 percent of median household income: 38.2
Percent change: 2.1

2014 fair market rent: $873
2014 percent of median household income: 22.5
2017 fair market rent: $1,062
2017 percent of median household income: 24.7
Percent change: 2.1

2014 fair market rent: $1,739
2014 percent of median household income: 30.8
2017 fair market rent: $2,095
2017 percent of median household income: 32.8
Percent change: 2

SmartAsset: Top 10 US cities with the largest rent increases

"The cause of the rent increase was split between two problems: large rent increases outpacing substantial gains in income, or stagnant income growth amplifying the impact of small rent increases," according to the study.

"New Orleans is an example of the latter. Incomes here only grew by $1,500 per year while monthly rent increased by $530 over the timeline we analyzed."

While housing remains expensive in traditionally high-priced cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, relative rent costs there actually fell. That could be "due to large increases in the median household income in those cities," the study says.

No matter where you find yourself, living within your means and employing common-sense budgeting tactics can help you save in the long run. Here are a few tips to get started.

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