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How a Philadelphia Amazon HQ2 would affect your rent

In Philadelphia, average annual rent growth for the last decade or so has hovered around 3 percent. Apartment List predicts an influx of Amazoners would drive up rents an extra 0.6 to 0.8 percent, meaning local renters would pay up to $6,500 more over 10 years.

A bedroom in an apartment at Hanover North Broad apartment complex, on North Broad Street.
A bedroom in an apartment at Hanover North Broad apartment complex, on North Broad Street.Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN

Now that we know Philadelphia has made the first cut in Amazon's search for a second North America headquarters, Apartment List has updated its research on the kinds of impact the winning city can expect to see on the local rental market. Researchers at the rental firm predict a moderate increase in Philadelphia.

The analysts estimate an influx of 50,000 Amazon workers and 66,250 "supplemental" workers to whichever region eventually builds the behemoth's second headquarters. They expect the growth will drive up rent and home prices no matter what.

In Philadelphia, average annual rent growth for the last decade or so has hovered around 3 percent. The updated report indicates that an influx of Amazoners would drive up rents an extra 0.6 to 0.8 percent on top of that in Philadelphia, meaning local renters would pay an extra $5,057 to $6,506 over 10 years.

Number crunchers at Apartment List predict that smaller metro areas will experience greater rent growth, so cities like Raleigh, Columbus and Indianapolis would experience the largest additional rent growth. Pittsburgh, too, will feel the pinch. The report predicts a standard rise of 3 percent annually plus up to 1.6 percent additional cost on top of that each year.

Cities like New York, Dallas and Los Angeles are already flush with housing stock, so the impacts there are less significant. Philadelphia comes in #9 among finalists in terms of most affected prices.