Bay Area rents rising the most in the poorest neighborhoods, report finds

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Rents continue to rise across the Bay Area. Now, a new report by the San Jose Mercury News shows many of the areas with the highest rent increases, are the poorest communities in the region.

The numbers are staggering. The average rent in the ten zip codes with the highest poverty rates in the Bay Area have gone up 67% since 2012. The Mercury News analyzed 225 zip codes across nine Bay Area counties and Santa Cruz county.

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On average, poorer neighborhoods saw the biggest increases in rent and mortgage prices while richer neighborhoods saw the smallest hike since the great recession ended in 2012.

For example, zip code 94024 in Los Altos where only 6% of the population is living in poverty. It's one of the few zip codes of the 225 studied where the rent only went up by single digits. Average rent prices only increased by 7% since 2012.

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In parts of Oakland it's the exact opposite. In zip code 94621 for example, two-thirds of the population is in poverty and rent has gone up 90%. That means if you were paying just $1000 a month for rent in 2012, you'd be paying $1900 a month for that same apartment in 2019.

The report also highlights how some grown children are moving back home, not for a free place to stay after college, but to help their parents pay for their sky high rent.