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Rents are skyrocketing nationally, and local renters have not been spared, with some Bellingham residents facing spikes as high as 60% upon renewing leases.

The fair market rent price of a one-bedroom in Bellingham has increased from $677 to $996 over the last decade — a 47% increase, according to metropolitan statistical area rental data. 

Some cities in the U.S. are experiencing a decade's worth of increases in a single year;  Austin, Texas, saw the average rent increase 40%. Overall, rents increased 14.1% across the nation in 2021, according to Redfin. 

Renters have looked to government for relief, mostly to no avail. In 2019, Oregon became the first state to implement rent control. No other state in the nation, including Washington, has a cap on the amount a landlord can raise rent in a single year. In fact, rent control is illegal in Washington. 

Over are inhabited by renters in Bellingham, and local residents say none of the state's or city's measures have been enough to keep a growing, desirable destination affordable for people of average means. Some even report rent increases that have pushed them toward homelessness.