Rent prices are going up in Chicago. On average, rent prices in Chicago went up 5% over last year, higher than the national average of 3% according to a report by real estate marketplace site Trulia. The increase in jobs for Chicago during the same period was a meager 1.5%. The average increase in rent prices may seem like a negligible amount to some, however it was enough to land Chicago at the 11th spot for Trulia's "Rent and Job Growth Trends" which focuses on the 25 largest rental markets in the country. Data indicates that the west coast was a hot spot for renters in 2013 as the top four spots on the list are occupied by San Francisco at a 10.6% increase in rent over last year, Portland at 10.5%, San Diego at 9.5% and Seattle at 8.9%.

The heatmap for Chicago labels only a few of the city's most popular neighborhoods, and the dollar amount attached is the average rent price per room. So what do you make of this information dear reader?

· The Post-Crash Rebound, Not Job Growth, Drove 2013 Price Gains [Trulia]

· Interactive heatmap [Trulia]