The median monthly rent for all apartment types in the U.S. has stabilized since 2022, despite some seasonal fluctuations. In January 2026, 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 Michigan and 2.6 times as much as the average wage in Arkansas, South Dakota, and West Virginia. 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 late 2025, some of the most expensive states to rent an apartment only saw a moderate increase in rental prices. Nevertheless, rents increased in about half of U.S. states as of January 2026. In North Dakota, the annual rental growth was the highest, at almost **** percent.

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 Jan 2026 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

The average monthly rent of apartments in California increased substantially in 2021, followed by a period of stabilization. In January 2026, 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.

As of January 2026, the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Hawaii was about *** 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 ***** times more affordable than one in Hawaii.January 2026, the average monthly rent in the U.S. declined slightly. Nevertheless, rents increased in more than half of U.S. states, with North Dakota registering the highest growth.

Comprehensive dataset of average rental costs across major US cities, including one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment prices

Displacement risk indicator classifying census tracts according to apartment rent prices in census tracts. We classify apartment rent along two dimensions: The average rents within the census tract for the specified year, balancing between nominal rental price and rental price per square foot.The change in average rent price (again balanced between nominal rent price and price per square foot) from the previous year. Note: Average rent calculations include market-rate and mixed-income multifamily apartment properties with 5 or more rental units in Seattle, excluding special types like student, senior, corporate or military housing. Source: Data from CoStar Group, www.costar.com, prepared by City of Seattle, Office of Planning and Community Development

This dataset provides comprehensive information on the average income and rent in various states across the United States for the year 2022. It aims to offer insights into state-level economic trends and housing market dynamics.

Column Descriptions:

Region: Name of the state within the United States.

Average_Rent: Description: Average monthly rent for residential properties in each state, reflecting prevailing rental costs.

Average_Income: Average per capita income within each state, representing the average earnings of individuals residing in the state over the year.

In District of Columbia, the average rent per square foot was **** U.S. dollars in 2018, whereas renters in Oregon were expected to pay half as much in rent per square foot. DC was the most expensive state for renters, followed by New York, Hawaii, Massachusetts and California. Why is DC so expensive? District of Columbia is the center of the U.S. political system with all three branches of federal government sitting there: Congress (legislative), President (executive) and the Supreme Court (judicial). The above average household incomes of its residents mean that high rents are still sustainable for the rental market. Limited space in DC DC has the largest share of apartment dwellers in the country. This is most likely due to limited space, as the federal district has a much higher population density than the states. The political importance of DC and the high population density suggest that the federal district is likely to retain its spot as the most expensive rental market in the future.

Rent Inflation in the United States remained unchanged at 3 percent in February. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Rent Inflation.

Apartment rents in two states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. exceeded ***** U.S. dollars in January 2026. In Hawaii, the median rent was about ***** U.S. dollars, nearly *** U.S. dollars higher than the national average. At the other end of the spectrum was South Dakota, where renters paid about *** U.S. dollars for the median new lease. Overall, more than half of the states saw rental rates increase year-on-year.

In January 2026, 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.

View quarterly updates and historical trends for US Median Asking Rent. from United States. Source: Census Bureau. Track economic data with YCharts analyt…

Price to Rent Ratio in the United States increased to 134.04 in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 133.46 in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Price to Rent Ratio.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Rent Payments (EC8)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Median rent payment

LAST UPDATED
January 2023

DESCRIPTION
Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time.

DATA SOURCE
U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org
Count 2 (1970)
Form STF1 (1980-1990)
Form SF3a (2000)

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/
Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent)

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/
1970-2021

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020.

1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries.

Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

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 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 average monthly rent of apartments in Florida's biggest cities has increased substantially since 2020. In January 2026, the average rent in Miami, Florida was ***** U.S. dollars, which was an increase of approximately *** U.S. dollars from December 2020.

Graph and download economic data for Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States (RRVRUSQ156N) from Q1 1956 to Q4 2025 about vacancy, rent, rate, and USA.

A list of job applications filed for a particular day and associated data. Prior weekly and monthly reports are archived at DOB and are not available on NYC Open Data.

United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average was 441.86500 Index 1982-84=100 in February of 2026, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average reached a record high of 441.86500 in February of 2026 and a record low of 84.70000 in January of 1981. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2026.