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 California, the estimated fair market rent for a two-bedroom accommodation amounted to ******U.S. dollars in 2025. It was one of the least affordable states in terms of housing that year, as someone would need to earn at least twice the minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom rental unit there.

The average monthly rent of apartments in California increased substantially 2021, followed by a period of stabilization. In May 2024, the average rent of a two-bedroom apartment cost over ***** U.S. dollars, up from ***** U.S. dollars in December 2020 before rents started to rise. Nevertheless, not all cities saw rents rise at the same pace.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average (CUUR0000SEHA) from Dec 1914 to Sep 2025 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

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.

In 2025, households in California needed an hourly wage of over 50 U.S. dollars to afford the rent of a two-bedroom apartment. Hawaii had the second-least affordable two-bedroom apartments, as a household would have to earn at least around 49 U.S. dollars per hour in order to afford rent payments. These figures are considerably higher than the average minimum wage in place in many states. There was no state in which a minimum wageworker could afford rent for the average two-bedroom apartment, if they worked 40 hours a week. Where are the least affordable counties and metros? The least affordable rents were predominately in Californian counties and metropolitan areas in 2025. District of Columbia has the highest minimum wages in the country, which stood at 17.5 U.S. dollars per hour as of January 2025. Thus, the affordability of two-bedroom apartments highlights how disproportionately high housing costs are in the state.

Data about the average market rent for one and two bedroom apartments in San Mateo County. This dataset includes apartment vacancy rates and the US Housing and Urban Development Department's fair market rent for each quarter.

Original Source: - Apartment Rental: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/adithyaawati/apartments-for-rent-classified - Crime Data: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/michaelbryantds/crimedata

Apartment Rent amenities -- 'basic' or 'luxury' bathrooms -- number of bathrooms bedrooms -- number of bedrooms has_photo -- photo of apartment pets_allowed -- True / False price -- rental price of an apartment square_feet -- size of the apartment cityname -- where the apartment is located state -- where the apartment is located latitude -- where the apartment is located longitude -- where the apartment is located source -- origin web of sourced data time -- data was sourced, originally in Unix format

Crime population -- Mean Population of the area racepctblack, racePctWhite, racePctAsian, racePctHisp-- Social background percentage of the area medIncome, medFamInc-- Median income, Median income of total family murdPerPop, rapesPerPop, robbbPerPop, assaultPerPop, burglPerPop, larcPerPop, autoTheftPerPop, arsonsPerPop, ViolentCrimesPerPop, nonViolPerPop-- Average number of each type of crimes avg_crime

The median rent for one- and two-bedroom apartments in Boston, Massachusetts, amounted to about ***** U.S. dollars by the end of July 2025. Rents decreased slightly after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic; this trend reversed in 2021, and as of July 2025, the annual rental growth stood at **** percent. Among the different states in the U.S., Massachusetts ranks as one of the most expensive rental markets.

In 2025, the average Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom rental home in the United States was 1,749 U.S. dollars per month, while that of a one-bedroom rental home was 1,465 U.S. dollars per month. This rent level was unaffordable for the average household with one full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage in that year.

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.

The fair market monthly rent in Florida for a two-bedroom apartment was ******U.S. dollars in 2025. Only renters who earn the area median income (AMI) can afford this housing in Florida. Rent affordable to renters with full-time jobs at mean renter wage or 30 percent area median income was lower than the fair market rent of a two-bedroom apartment and one-bedroom apartment in Florida, making housing in this state not affordable for them. The rent in Florida ranks ******among all other states in the United States for a two bedroom apartment.

In January 2025, apartment rents recorded an annual growth in most U.S. states. Nevertheless, the national average rent declined by about *** percent. West Virginia was the state with the largest rental increase, while Colorado measured the largest decline. California, one of the most expensive states to rent an apartment, such as California, saw an increase of about *** percent from the previous year. How much should you earn to afford to rent an apartment in different states in the U.S.? Both employment opportunities and the living costs vary widely across the country. In California, which is among the most competitive housing markets in the U.S., the hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment rental was roughly ** U.S. dollars, more than twice higher than in North Carolina, Louisiana, or Michigan in 2024. When it comes to the median household income, on the other hand, California does not even make it in the top ten states. How much should you earn to afford a home in some of U.S. largest metros? In 2022, the annual salary needed to buy a median-priced home in the U.S. was ****** U.S. dollars. However, in some of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, where housing prices are up to two or three times higher, homebuyers would have to earn more than 100,000 U.S. dollars to afford a home. In San Jose, which was the most expensive metro, the annual salary needed for a median-priced home was approximately ******* U.S. dollars.

Rents in California's most populous cities briefly decreased in 2020, but swiftly headed for recovery in the following year. In San Jose, the average rent amounted to ***** U.S. dollars in May 2024, higher than the previous peak of ***** U.S. dollars in August 2019. In May 2024, the average monthly rent of a two-bedroom apartment in California was close to ***** U.S. dollars.

As of January 2025, the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Hawaii was about 120 U.S. dollars higher than in California. The states of Hawaii and California ranked as the most expensive within the United States for apartment renters. Conversely, an apartment in Arkansas was almost three times more affordable than one in Hawaii.In 2025, the average monthly rent in the U.S. declined slightly. Nevertheless, in rents increased in most states, with West Virginia registering the highest growth.

The average monthly rent in California for a two-bedroom apartment was ***** U.S. dollars in 2025, while a one-bedroom unit cost ******U.S. dollars. Only renters who earn the area median income (AMI) can afford two-bedroom housing in California. Rent affordable to renters with full-time jobs at mean renter wage, or 30 percent area median income, was lower than the fair market rent of a two-bedroom and one-bedroom apartment in California, making this housing in this state not affordable for them. The rent in California ranked highest among all other states in the United States for a two bedroom apartment in 2025.

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.

The median rent for one- and two-bedroom apartments in San Francisco, CA, amounted to about ***** U.S. dollars at the end of 2023. Rents decreased drastically after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic - by over ** percent between December 2019 and December 2020. This trend reversed in 2021, and as of December 2021, the annual rental growth stood at ** percent. Among the different states in the U.S., California ranks as the second most expensive rental market in 2023.