Yes, modestly. NerdWallet’s national analysis moved from $151 per year in 2025 to $165 per year as of September 2026 — roughly 9% on the same $30,000 property / $100,000 liability / $500 deductible profile. That is about $14 a year, and the longer history shows renters premiums have been remarkably flat for a decade.
Key Takeaways
- The cleanest same-source comparison: NerdWallet $151/year (2025) → $165/year (Sept 2026), about +9% — roughly $14 more per year.
- The long view is flat. Insurance Information Institute data via NAIC shows the national average fell from $188 in 2013 to $171 in 2022 — renters insurance got cheaper over the last decade, not more expensive.
- The III’s widely cited “$171” figure is 2022 data, not a 2026 number — it comes from the latest NAIC figures the III publishes, so it cannot show a 2026 trend.
- MoneyGeek’s 2026 national average is $182/year ($15/month) for its $20,000/$100,000/$1,000-deductible profile — but MoneyGeek does not publish a prior-year figure I could verify, so no trend can be drawn from it.
- Drivers of the current uptick: severe-weather claims, inflation in repair and replacement costs, higher coverage limits, and rising property crime in some markets.
The Only Apples-to-Apples Comparison Available
Trend claims are only as good as their methodology. Comparing one source’s 2025 number to a different source’s 2026 number is meaningless — the profiles, samples, and methods differ. So here is what each major source actually shows, with the profile stated plainly.
NerdWallet: $151 → $165 per year (up ~9%). NerdWallet’s rate analysis put the national average at $151 per year (about $13 per month) in its 2025 publications — the figure appears in its July 2025 roommates guide and its December 2025 coverage guide (NerdWallet, Jul 2025, NerdWallet, Dec 2025). As of September 2026, the same analysis shows $165 per year (about $14 per month) for the identical profile: $30,000 in personal property, $100,000 in liability, $500 deductible (ApartmentList, citing NerdWallet). Same source, same profile, one year apart: +$14 per year, roughly +9.3%. This is the most reliable year-over-year signal in the public data.
Insurance Information Institute: $188 (2013) → $171 (2022) — and no 2026 figure exists. The III’s published table of average renters premiums, sourced from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, runs from 2013 to 2022: $188, $190, $188, $185, $180, $179, $174, $173, $170, $171 (III). Two things stand out. First, the decade trend is down about 9% — renters insurance got cheaper while homeowners premiums surged 43% over the same span. Second, the “$171 per year” figure you see quoted across the web as the III’s current average — including in Experian’s 2026 cost guide (Experian) — is the 2022 NAIC figure, the latest the III publishes. It tells you nothing about 2025 or 2026. Anyone presenting it as a current-year benchmark is misreading the data.
MoneyGeek: $182/year in 2026 — no verified prior-year number. MoneyGeek’s 2026 analysis, based on quotes from 56 carriers across 897 ZIP codes, puts the national average at $15 per month ($182 per year) for $20,000 in personal property, $100,000 in liability, and a $1,000 deductible (MoneyGeek). I could not verify a MoneyGeek-published 2025 figure on the same profile, so per our standards: no trend is drawn from MoneyGeek here. Note the profile difference matters — MoneyGeek’s $1,000 deductible versus NerdWallet’s $500 deductible explains part of why the two 2026 figures ($182 vs $165) differ.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (2024): more renters seeing increases. A 2024 Fed report found that more rental-insurance policyholders experienced year-over-year premium increases than decreases — by a 23.5 percentage-point margin (via InsuranceNewsNet). That is a survey of direction, not dollars, and it predates 2026 — but it confirms the uptick did not start this year.
Putting it together: the best-supported reading is a modest, ongoing rise of roughly 5–10% per year in quoted national averages since 2024, against a decade-long backdrop of flat-to-falling premiums. In dollars, the 2026 increase is about a dollar a month.
What Is Driving the Increase
Four forces are doing most of the work, and none of them are mysterious.
1. Severe weather and catastrophe losses. Hurricane exposure on the Gulf Coast, tornado exposure across Tornado Alley, and wildfire-adjacent risk in the West raise loss costs, and insurers price that in. The state spread tells the story: MoneyGeek’s 2026 data shows Louisiana at $338 per year and Alabama at $251 — the most expensive states — while Wisconsin sits at $112 (MoneyGeek). The III’s state table agrees on the ranking, with Mississippi at $262 and Louisiana at $243 leading the nation (SoFi, citing III). When loss costs rise in the expensive states, the national average follows.
2. Inflation in repair and replacement costs. A renters claim pays to repair or replace things — drywall, flooring, furniture, electronics — and the cost of materials and labor rose sharply in the early 2020s. The average property-damage loss per renters claim is estimated at roughly $10,000, with fire and lightning claims averaging more than $11,000, per Gitnux data cited in industry reporting (InsuranceNewsNet). When the average claim costs more, premiums follow with a lag.
3. Higher coverage limits. Renters are buying more coverage than they used to — more electronics, more expensive furniture, higher liability limits as landlords increasingly require $100,000. More coverage purchased means higher average premiums even if the rate per dollar of coverage barely moves. This is a composition effect, not a price hike, but it shows up in the national average all the same.
4. Crime and claims frequency. Theft makes up nearly 1 in 5 renters insurance claims, per Gitnux (InsuranceNewsNet). Urban property-crime trends feed directly into the location rating factor — one of the biggest factors affecting your renters insurance rate — and carriers reprice ZIP codes as the data comes in.
Why Your Renewal Might Rise More (or Less) Than the Average
National averages are built from millions of policies; your renewal is built from one address and one claims file. These are the levers that move your number away from the ~9% headline:
- You filed a claim. A single prior claim raises renters premiums by an average of 18%, and claims stay on your record for three to five years (InsureDBetter). One claim can double the effect of the general trend on your bill.
- Your credit-based insurance score changed. In most states, insurers use a credit-based score in pricing, and MoneyGeek found renters with poor credit pay about three times more than those with excellent credit — $483 versus $153 per year (MoneyGeek). A score improvement is one of the few levers that can push your premium down against the trend. (California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Michigan prohibit the practice.)
- Your carrier repriced your ZIP code. Location repricing happens in bulk — your street did not get riskier, but the carrier’s model updated. This is the most common reason for a surprise jump with no claim and no coverage change.
- Your discounts lapsed. Claims-free, protective-device, and autopay discounts quietly expire or get dropped at renewal. Worth an annual check.
What to Do About It: The Renewal Playbook
A rising market is not a reason to panic — it is a reason to shop. The trend adds about a dollar a month; a lazy renewal can cost you ten times that.
Compare at least three quotes every year. MoneyGeek consistently finds gaps of $100 to $150 or more between the cheapest and most expensive quotes for identical coverage (MoneyGeek). Carriers reprice on different schedules, so the cheapest carrier this year may not be the cheapest next year. Our guide to how much renters insurance costs in 2026 gives you the benchmarks to judge any quote against.
Raise the deductible before cutting coverage. Moving from a $500 to a $1,000 deductible saves about $17 per year on the national average profile, per MoneyGeek — small, but it lowers the premium without reducing protection (MoneyGeek). Cutting your personal property limit to save money is backwards: it reduces the payout exactly when you need it.
Stack the discounts. Bundling renters with auto insurance typically saves 10–25% across both policies; security devices (smoke detectors, deadbolts, alarms) save another 5–15% depending on the carrier (MoneyGeek). Our guide to lowering your premium ranks every tactic by impact.
Do not chase the trend by overbuying. Rising prices tempt people to buy more coverage “before it gets worse.” Buy what your inventory supports — no more, no less — and let the shopping do the saving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are renters insurance rates going up in 2026? Modestly, yes. The best same-source comparison — NerdWallet’s national analysis — rose from $151/year in 2025 to $165/year in September 2026, about a 9% increase. That is roughly $14 more per year, or just over a dollar a month.
Why is my renters insurance renewal much higher than the national trend? The usual culprits: a recent claim (which raises premiums ~18% on average), a credit-score change, your carrier repricing your ZIP code, or lapsed discounts. Any of these can swamp the single-digit national trend.
Will renters insurance keep rising? No public source forecasts renters-specific rates, and the decade history (down 9% from 2013 to 2022) argues against assuming a sustained climb. Severe-weather loss costs are the main upward pressure; shopping annually is the main defense regardless of direction.
Is renters insurance still cheap compared to other insurance? Yes. Even after the 2026 uptick, $14–$15 per month is a fraction of auto or homeowners insurance — NerdWallet’s analysis puts average homeowners insurance at $2,490 per year versus $165 for renters (NerdWallet). It remains one of the best value-to-cost ratios in personal insurance.
All figures in this article were verified in September 2026 from the cited sources. Year-over-year comparisons use the same source and the same coverage profile; where a source lacks a prior-year figure, that is stated rather than estimated. Your premium depends on your state, carrier, and profile — get current quotes before buying, and talk to a licensed agent in your state with questions about your renewal.
