ST. PAUL-Rents in Minnesota cities continue to climb, though two-bedroom apartments in St. Paul aren't as pricey as those in Minneapolis and seven other metro cities.

That's according to a new report from Apartmentlist.com, which scans its own listings to determine monthly median rental values.

As of April 1, St. Paul ranks as the ninth most expensive city in Minnesota for median-value two-bedroom apartment rentals at $1,200, and Minneapolis ranks third with $1,640. The most expensive two-bedrooms are in Minnetonka at $1,730, followed by St. Louis Park at $1,700.

The other cities in the top 10 are Plymouth at $1,510, Edina at $1,470, Eden Prairie at $1,410, Bloomington at $1,310, Burnsville at $1,230 and Richfield at $1,030.

Overall, rents in Minnesota increased 4 percent from March 2016 to March 2017, according to the website.

Year-over-year increases were 3.4 percent in Minneapolis and 3.1 percent in St. Paul. The fastest growing rents were in Burnsville, St. Louis Park, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, which experienced percentage increases between 5.7 percent and 4.6 percent.

The report from Apartmentlist.com shows rents and rental increases by city and county but not by neighborhood, so it's harder to say whether rent costs are going up everywhere within St. Paul and Minneapolis and whether they're climbing at the same pace.

Listings online reveal wide variation in prices, with the newest construction in downtown St. Paul, the Uptown/Lake Calhoun area of Minneapolis and other popular destinations offering the most amenities but also the most expensive.

A two-bedroom in the Be @ the Calhoun Greenway on Chowen Avenue in South Minneapolis rents for about $2,100. At 2700 University, the resort-style apartment complex that recently opened on the Green Line near St. Paul's Westgate Station, a two-bedroom rents for about $2,000.

At the Victoria Park Apartments off St. Paul's West Seventh Street, a two-bedroom ranges from $1,550 to $1,900, depending upon the size and number of bathrooms.

At the renovated Kellogg Square Apartments in downtown St. Paul, a two-bedroom rents from $1,620 to $1,950.

On Apartmentlist.com, rents in established apartment complexes outside of select destinations such as Uptown and the two downtowns tended to run significantly cheaper.

At the McCarrons Village apartments off Rice Street and Larpenteur Avenue in St. Paul's North End, a two-bedroom apartment was being advertised Friday for $1,055.

Rents throughout the Twin Cities and other popular urban areas have been climbing for years, with rental housing demand outpacing new construction since the end of the recession in 2009.

In July 2015, a federal housing report for the 16-county area that includes southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin found the highest average rent at $1,420 was reported in the downtown Minneapolis/University of Minnesota area.

The largest increase - 12 percent - was in the "central St. Paul" area, where rent increased to $1,187 during the spring of 2015, up from $1,057 a year earlier.

The HUD report noted that rents in the Minneapolis area had climbed every year since 2012, and that apartment vacancies were tight.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a Forum News Service media partner.