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.

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 May 2025 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

The average monthly rent for all apartment types in the U.S. soared in 2021 and 2022, followed by a slight decline in the next two years. In April 2025, the monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment amounting 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, which 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 2024, 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 April 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.

Apartment rents in two states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. exceeded ***** U.S. dollars in April 2025. 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 Nebraska, where renters paid about ***** U.S. dollars for the median new lease. Overall, most states saw rental rates increase year-on-year.

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.

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.

Price to Rent Ratio in the United States increased to 134.20 in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 133.60 in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Price to Rent Ratio.

The median value of gross rent prices in an area, measured in dollars

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SEHC01) from Jan 1983 to Jun 2025 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Shelter in U.S. City Average (CUUR0000SAS2RS) from Dec 1982 to Jun 2025 about shelter, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

United States US: Price to Rent Ratio: sa data was reported at 134.118 2015=100 in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 133.710 2015=100 for 2023. United States US: Price to Rent Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 99.069 2015=100 from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2024, with 55 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 137.672 2015=100 in 2022 and a record low of 89.669 2015=100 in 1997. United States US: Price to Rent Ratio: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Annual. Nominal house prices divided by rent price indices

The average monthly rent of apartments in Florida increased substantially in 2021, followed by two years of slight decrease. As of May 2024, the average rent of a two-bedroom apartment in Florida cost 1,557 U.S. dollars, which was an increase of 400 U.S. dollars from May 2020 when prices started to rise.

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

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Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Services Less Rent of Shelter in U.S. City Average (CUUS0000SASL2RS) from H1 1984 to H2 2024 about shelter, rent, urban, consumer, services, CPI, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Shelter in U.S. City Average was 433.53400 Index Dec 1982=100 in June of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Shelter in U.S. City Average reached a record high of 433.53400 in June of 2025 and a record low of 141.70000 in January of 1990. 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 Shelter in U.S. City Average - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average (CUUR0000SEHC01) from Dec 1982 to Jun 2025 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Residences in U.S. City Average was 423.95500 Index Dec 1982=100 in March of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Residences in U.S. City Average reached a record high of 423.95500 in March of 2025 and a record low of 100.00000 in December of 1982. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Residences in U.S. City Average - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: Rent of Shelter in U.S. City Average (CWUR0000SAS2RS) from Jan 1985 to Jun 2025 about clerical workers, shelter, rent, urban, wages, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.