Not helpful because apartment size, amenities and location have a big impact on rental rates. I rented in a new building and thought the rent was exorbitant -- far more than the averages would suggest. But there are plenty of people willing to pay it and there's nothing comparable.
I'm very surprised that Seattle and environs wasn't among those with soaring rents. Young people are finding it more and more difficult to rent around Seattle and will move 45 minutes to an hour south to Tacoma to find reasonable rentals; those too are rising fast!
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Looking at the absolute dollar only (of the rental) without any reference to the cost of livings in those cities, is rather meaningless. In the cheap cities, yes rentals are much lower, but then so is salary level, not to mention lack of decent-paying jobs. In the expensive cities, rentals are far higher, but you get paid (well it's likely that you'll be in a good job) much much higher.
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Living in Long Beach used to be a great alternative to the more expensive LA and coastal Orange County. In the past few years the increases have become ridiculous. Wonderful tenants who made my neighborhood feel like a neighborhood have been displaced as buildings are bought, remodeled and then rented for double the price. And the homelessness problem is appalling.
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