The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo, Japan, was approximately ***** U.S. dollars per month. In comparison, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Shanghai, China, was approximately *** U.S. dollars.

The median monthly rent for all apartment types in the U.S. has stabilized since 2022, despite some seasonal fluctuations. In August 2025, the monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment amounted to ***** U.S. dollars. That was an increase from ***** U.S. dollars in January 2021, but a decline from the peak value of ***** U.S. dollars in August 2022. Where are the most expensive apartments in the U.S.? Apartment rents vary widely from state to state. To afford a two-bedroom apartment in California, for example, a renter needed to earn an average hourly wage of nearly ** U.S. dollars. This was approximately double the average wage in North Carolina and three times as much as the average wage in Arkansas. In fact, rental costs were considerably higher than the hourly minimum wage in all U.S. states. How did rents change in different states in the U.S.? In 2025, some of the most expensive states to rent an apartment only saw a moderate increase in rental prices. Nevertheless, rents increased in most states as of August 2025. In West Virginia, the annual rental growth was the highest, at ***** percent.

In 2024, New York, NY, was the most expensive rental market for one-bedroom apartments in the United States. The median monthly rental rate of an apartment in New York was ***** U.S. dollars, while in San Francisco, CA which ranked second highest, renters paid on average ***** U.S. dollars.

The average monthly rent of apartments in Florida increased substantially in 2021, followed by two years of slight decrease. As of ********, the average rent of a two-bedroom apartment in Florida cost ***** U.S. dollars, which was an increase of *** U.S. dollars from ******** when prices started to rise.

The most expensive apartments in the PRS sector were located in Warsaw, Poland in 2022. The cost of renting a two-room apartment in this sector was between *** and *** thousand zloty in this period.

Amsterdam is set to maintain its position as Europe's most expensive city for apartment rentals in 2025, with median costs reaching 2,500 euros per month for a furnished unit. This figure is double the rent in Prague and significantly higher than other major European capitals like Paris, Berlin, and Madrid. The stark difference in rental costs across European cities reflects broader economic trends, housing policies, and the complex interplay between supply and demand in urban centers. Factors driving rental costs across Europe The disparity in rental prices across European cities can be attributed to various factors. In countries like Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, a higher proportion of the population lives in rental housing. This trend contributes to increased demand and potentially higher living costs in these nations. Conversely, many Eastern and Southern European countries have homeownership rates exceeding 90 percent, which may help keep rental prices lower in those regions. Housing affordability and market dynamics The relationship between housing prices and rental rates varies significantly across Europe. As of 2024, countries like Turkey, Iceland, Portugal, and Hungary had the highest house price to rent ratio indices. This indicates a widening gap between property values and rental costs since 2015. The affordability of homeownership versus renting differs greatly among European nations, with some countries experiencing rapid increases in property values that outpace rental growth. These market dynamics influence rental costs and contribute to the diverse rental landscape observed across European cities.

As of September 2024, renting a one-bedroom apartment in the city center in Morocco costed around ***** Moroccan dirhams, some *** U.S. dollars. This was slightly lower than renting a three-bedroom apartment outside the city center, which cost around ***** Moroccan dirhams on average, around *** U.S. dollars.

The District of Columbia is the most expensive U.S. state for studio apartments, with monthly rents nearly *** U.S. dollars higher than in Hawaii. As of February 2021, renters in District of Columbia paid on average ***** U.S. dollars monthly for a studio apartment. In comparison, studios in Arkansas were approximately three times more affordable.

Between 2020 and 2021, the average monthly rent in the U.S. saw an overall increase. Nevertheless, this was not the case in some states that experienced dramatic negative rental growth.

Geneva stands out as Europe's most expensive city for apartment purchases in early 2025, with prices reaching a staggering 15,720 euros per square meter. This Swiss city's real estate market dwarfs even high-cost locations like Zurich and London, highlighting the extreme disparities in housing affordability across the continent. The stark contrast between Geneva and more affordable cities like Nantes, France, where the price was 3,700 euros per square meter, underscores the complex factors influencing urban property markets in Europe. Rental market dynamics and affordability challenges While purchase prices vary widely, rental markets across Europe also show significant differences. London maintained its position as the continent's priciest city for apartment rentals in 2023, with the average monthly costs for a rental apartment amounting to 36.1 euros per square meter. This figure is double the rent in Lisbon, Portugal or Madrid, Spain, and substantially higher than in other major capitals like Paris and Berlin. The disparity in rental costs reflects broader economic trends, housing policies, and the intricate balance of supply and demand in urban centers. Economic factors influencing housing costs The European housing market is influenced by various economic factors, including inflation and energy costs. As of April 2025, the European Union's inflation rate stood at 2.4 percent, with significant variations among member states. Romania experienced the highest inflation at 4.9 percent, while France and Cyprus maintained lower rates. These economic pressures, coupled with rising energy costs, contribute to the overall cost of living and housing affordability across Europe. The volatility in electricity prices, particularly in countries like Italy where rates are projected to reach 153.83 euros per megawatt hour by February 2025, further impacts housing-related expenses for both homeowners and renters.

As of April 2024, Hungary's capital Budapest recorded the highest average rental prices for houses and apartments measuring at *** thousand forints a month. By comparison, average monthly rental prices in Békéscsaba totaled ** thousand forints.

For the past decade, buying a home in the UK has been more affordable than renting one, when only considering the monthly costs. The renting versus buying gap fluctuated during the period and in 2016, it reached its highest value of 131 British pounds. In 2023, the monthly costs for a first-time buyer were 1,231 British pounds, compared to 1,258 British pounds for renters. Rental growth vs house price growth Housing costs in the UK have been on an uprise, with both renting and buying a home increasingly unreachable. Though the monthly costs of buying have consistently been lower in the past decade, house price growth has been much stronger than rental growth since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, buyers have been affected by the aggressive mortgage rate hikes, making acquiring their first home even less affordable. Barriers to homeownership Buying a home is not straightforward. For younger (18-40) potential first-time buyers, there are a number of barriers. Approximately one in three first-time buyers point out that raising a deposit was the main obstacle. Other reasons stopping buyers were not being able to take out a mortgage on their current income and poor credit ratings. Unsurprisingly, the highest share of people who buy a home with a mortgage was in the age group of 45 to 55-year-olds.

As of October 2024, Cluj-Napoca had the highest rent for one-room apartments, on average, renting a studio apartment costs *** euros per month. Arad was the most affordable city to live in on the given list — *** euros per month, even reaching an average of *** euros in January and February 2024.

The average price of purpose-built rental (PRS) apartments in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, ranged from ** to ** euros per square meter per month on average in the first half of 2024. That was the highest range compared to other capitals in the Baltic region. In the prime co-living apartment segment, Vilnius recorded the highest price range. The average monthly rent in the private apartment market was the lowest in Riga, varying from ** to **** euros per square meter.

In December 2023, the monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center of Mexico City amounted to ****** U.S. dollars, whereas a three-bedroom apartment averaged ******* U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, Mexico City is the most expensive place to buy residential property in Mexico.

The fourth quarter of 2024 brought increases in private rental rates in all surveyed Polish cities. The average apartment rent in Warsaw in this period amounted to ***** zloty, one percent higher than the previous year's fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2020, all mentioned cities recorded a decrease in prices due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the main factors driving high rents across European cities is the same as any other consumer-driven business. If demand outweighs supply, prices will inflate. The drive for high paid professionals to be located centrally in prime locations, mixed with the low levels of available space, high land, and construction costs, all keep rental prices increasing. Renting in European cities In 2025, Munich was the most expensive city to rent a furnished studio among the 23 cities surveyed. At ***** euros per month, renting a studio in Munich cost nearly twice the price of a studio in Athens. For one-bedroom apartments or a furnished private room, the most expensive city was Amsterdam. Homeownership in Europe In many European countries owning your home is more commonplace than renting – for instance, in Romania, the homeownership rate is over ** percent. In the UK, affordability of housing is one of the leading housing concerns, with the majority of adults agreeing that first-time buyers getting on a property ladder is a very or somewhat serious problem.

The average monthly cost for senior housing in the U.S. in 2025 was the highest for memory care and the lowest for independent living facilities. In the second quarter of the year, the average monthly cost for independent living housing was ***** U.S. dollars. Senior housing costs also vary vastly across different states.

This statistic illustrates the monthly average rental price for one bedroom apartment in a new development in 2013, by London boroughs. By far the most expensive boroughs in London with respect to monthly rental of new apartments were Camden, with ***** British pounds (GBP) monthly per one bedroom flat and Westminster, with ***** GBP. For comparison, London-wide average monthly rental price for one bedroom new apartment was ***** GBP in 2013.

The most expensive cities to live in were Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca as of April 2023. On average renting a studio apartment cost *** euros per month in both cities. It was followed by Brașov, Iași and Constanța, with Timișoara being the most affordable city to live in from the given list - *** euros for a one-room apartment.

The monthly median asking rent for unfurnished apartments in the United States in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to ***** U.S. dollars. This was an increase of about *** U.S. dollars in just five years. In 2020, the median rent stood at ***** U.S. dollars. The U.S. rental market As rental apartment vacancy rates fall, rents are on the rise. This makes it more difficult for Americans to, first, find an apartment to rent, and second, find an apartment which they can afford. Nevertheless, renting has become much more common in recent years, with the number of renter households having substantially increased in the past two decades. In 2025, there were approximately **** million renter households in the U.S. Rents in different states Of course, rents vary from state to state. The most expensive rents are found in Hawaii, California, District of Colombia, New Jersey, and Florida. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, growth was the strongest in the Sun Belt states, and especially in states with lower costs of living, such as Texas. In Austin, TX, the average rent soared by nearly ** percent in 2021, and remained elevated, despite a slight decline in 2023.