This midsize city in the Northeast has the fastest growing rent in the nation

Hartford, Connecticut, known for being the home of the Mark Twain House, having the nation's oldest newspaper and being the insurance capital of the world, is also where you'll find the fastest growing rent in the U.S., according to one measure. 

Typical rent in the Northeast city, which is $1,871 a month as of July, has skyrocketed 7.8% year over year, according to online real estate brokerage Zillow. The sharp price increase is attributed in part to growing demand for rentals in the area, which many now view as a more affordable housing option to nearby places like New York or Boston with access to big-city employers, Zillow said. 

"Commuting into New York City or Boston from places like Hartford or Providence might have been a deterrent before, but in this new age of remote and hybrid work, the savings seem worth it for many renters, even if it means an occasional painful commute," Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow, said in a statement.