Rent increases are not applied evenly. Two renters in the same city, even the same neighborhood, can see very different increases depending on factors that have nothing to do with fairness and everything to do with market timing and lease structure.
Nationally, rent is close to flat right now: the median sits around $1,390 a month, actually down slightly year over year as of the latest reading. That national number hides a lot, though. Some metros are up sharply while others are down just as sharply, which means if your rent jumped this year, that's not "what everyone's dealing with." It's specific to your building, your landlord, or your local market.
Renters who have stayed in the same unit for several years without negotiating often see the steepest jumps, because landlords price long-term tenants against current market rates, not the rate they signed at years ago. New tenants, meanwhile, often walk in at whatever the current market rate already is.
Building type matters too. Larger apartment complexes with professional management tend to raise rent on a predictable annual schedule tied closely to local market data. Smaller, independently owned buildings can be more variable, sometimes lower, sometimes with sharper jumps depending on the owner's own costs.
The only way to know if your increase is normal or above-market is to compare it against what similar units nearby are actually renting for right now, not what they rented for when you signed your lease.
Predictye Rent pulls ZIP-level rental market data so you can see exactly where your unit sits against the local trend: below market, at market, or being pushed above it. That comparison is the difference between accepting an increase and having a real basis to negotiate one down.
Don't guess. Just Predictye.