ROCKVILLE, Md. — Tyree Davis IV is a recent arrival to Rockville from the Midwest. He moved to the city in 2022, but he already calls it home.

“We are one of the most diverse cities in America,” he says. “The county has some good opportunities, the city has some good opportunities, so I don’t foresee moving, and I’ve enjoyed it thus far.”

Yet in those two years, Davis has already been hit with two rent increases, first 11%, and then, another 9%. Coupled with rising costs on things such as insurance, he’s forced to ask some hard questions.

“My salary is not matching that,” Davis admits. “What am I going to sacrifice in order to stay in this place? Or am I going to have to leave the community I’ve called home, the relationships I’ve built to be able to afford something else?”

Many in Rockville are asking themselves the same questions as rent prices continue to rise across the city. City data shows that nearly half of Rockville’s residents are renters, but community groups providing renters’ assistance say the high rents are already causing the city to lose people.