Amazon's new HQ2 could come with a scary consequence for renters — here are the cities most at risk

Amazon plans to spend $5 billion to build a second headquarters, dubbed HQ2, which it says will provide jobs to as many as 50,000 highly paid employees.
Cities across North America have been submitting proposals to host HQ2 because of the potential for economic growth if Amazon comes to town.
Rents could rise by over $200 a month in the city that wins the bid for Amazon's new headquarters.

Thursday is the deadline for cities across North America to submit their bids to become the home of Amazon's new $5 billion headquarters.

The e-commerce giant announced on September 7 it had begun looking for a place to build its second headquarters, which it says will house 50,000 mostly white-collar workers making an average of over $100,000 a year.

Since Amazon has taken over Seattle, where it employs over 30,000 workers, the city has become the fastest-growing in the US and the nation's largest company town, The Seattle Times reported. As such, residents are paying a premium to live there.

The situation is likely to be the same for any one of the dozens of cities vying for Amazon's HQ2 as they hope to replicate Seattle's economic boom. That's according to a new report from Apartment List, which analyzed how rents in some of the top contending cities would be affected if Amazon moved in.

To compile its report, Apartment List gathered data for 15 metro areas that are most likely in the running for HQ2. The data included vacancy rates, median income, and median rent, as well as housing development and rent increases from 2005 to 2015. Apartment List projected how Amazon's headquarters could change annual rent growth and then calculated the expected additional cost to renter households over a 10-year period.

Below, check out the 10 cities where rents could increase the most if Amazon's HQ2 set up camp.

Boston, Massachusetts

Median rent: $1,969

Additional annual rent growth: 0.5% to 0.8%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $6,608 to $10,539

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Median rent: $1,253

Additional annual rent growth: 0.6% to 0.8%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $5,057 to $6,506

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Median rent: $1,217

Additional annual rent growth: 0.7% to 1%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $5,969 to $8,705

Detroit, Michigan

Median rent: $998

Additional annual rent growth: 0.8% to 1.2%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $5,571 to $8,031

Austin, Texas

Median rent: $1,386

Additional annual rent growth: 0.8% to 1%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $7,441 to $9,706

Denver, Colorado

Median rent: $1,480

Additional annual rent growth: 0.8% to 1.1%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $7,751 to $11,452

Baltimore, Maryland

Median rent: $1,406

Additional annual rent growth: 1% to 1.3%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $9,241 to $12,214

San Jose, California

Median rent: $2,691

Additional annual rent growth: 1% to 1.6%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $18,100 to $29,581

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Median rent: $837

Additional annual rent growth: 1.2% to 1.6%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $6,970 to $9,533

Raleigh, North Carolina

Median rent: $1,113

Additional annual rent growth: 1.5% to 2%

Cost to renter over 10 years: $11,756 to $15,356

Amazon's new HQ2 could come with a scary consequence for renters — here are the cities most at risk

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