The five US cities where rents are rising the most - is YOURS on the list?

Rents in 18 of America's 50 largest metropolitan areas have increased in the last year, new data shows.

A report by Realtor.com found tenants in the Northeast and Midwest are seeing the biggest hikes, with Chicago and New York taking the top and second spot respectively.

It comes as rents have emerged as a key driver of inflation, with Federal Reserve officials labelling them the 'biggest stumbling block' to taming the economy.

Chicago's median rent price rose to $1,846 in March, up 4.3 percent from the same month last year, Realtor.com said. 

Meanwhile, tenants in New York have seen their rents go up 3.8 percent to $2,876. The full list is at the end of the article.

A report by Realtor.com found tenants in the Northeast and Midwest are seeing the biggest hikes, with Chicago and New York taking the top and second spot respectively

In third place was Kansas City, MO, where the median lease has increased 3.4 percent to $1,340. 

It was followed by Boston, MA, and Indianapolis, IN, where costs both rose 3.3 percent to $3,023 and $1,297 respectively. 

Researchers analyzed the average costs of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units in each city.

Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu said the Northeastern region in particular had suffered from a lack of available land for new multifamily constructions - driving up prices.

'The high housing prices in these expensive markets, plus elevated mortgage rates, may force people to stay in rental markets longer,' she said. 

Soaring mortgage rates - which are now above 7 percent - coupled with record-high prices has sent housing affordability plummeting in the last year. 

According to Realtor.com, the median rent in Chicago (pictured) rose to $1,846 in March, up 4.3 percent from the same month last year

Meanwhile tenants in New York (pictured) have seen their rents go up 3.8 percent to $2,876

Xu notes that this trend puts more pressure on the rental market. Low unemployment rates in cities can also exacerbate the problem.

'For Kansas City and Indianapolis, in addition to affordability, both of them have strong labor markets, with unemployment rates of 3.6 percent and 3.7 percent respectively in February.' 

Earlier this month Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that rents and rising mortgage rates had become a key driver of inflation.

'Housing is the biggest stumbling block,' Goolsbee was quoted in Bloomberg as saying.

'We thought we basically understood the mechanical, short-run model of how much housing inflation should be coming down. 

'And it hasn't come down as fast as we thought it was going to have come down at this point.' 

The rate of annual inflation rose slightly to 3.5 percent in March. Gasoline and shelter costs - which include rents - accounted for more than half of the increase, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).