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.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SEHA) from Jan 1981 to Sep 2025 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

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.

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.

In the first quarter of 2025, the house price-to-rent ratio in Australia was estimated at ***, marking a decrease from the same quarter of the previous year. An indicator of how strong the property market is, the house price-to-rent ratio was calculated by dividing nominal house prices by rent price indices. Within the given period, after reaching a peak in the first quarter of 2022, the price-to-rent ratio decreased each quarter until the second quarter of 2023. From then on, the house price-to-rent ratio fluctuated, but largely trended downwards. Is Australia in a property bubble? Many industry experts believe the country is in a property bubble, indicated by the rapid increase in Australian property market prices to the point that they are no longer relative to incomes and rents, followed by a decline. The house price-to-income ratio was on an upward trend between the third quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2024. Nonetheless, after hitting its peak, it declined to ***** in the fourth quarter of 2024. Rental property demand In March 2025, the rental vacancy rate, which indicates how many properties are available for rent out of all the rental stock, was relatively high in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney. That year, the average weekly rent prices varied across the country depending on the city, with the highest average weekly rents for houses and units in Sydney. Hobart, on the other hand, had the most affordable rental properties across Australia's capital cities.

Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Shizuoka City data was reported at 98.600 2020=100 in Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 98.700 2020=100 for Feb 2025. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Shizuoka City data is updated monthly, averaging 98.800 2020=100 from Jan 1970 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 663 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 108.800 2020=100 in Apr 1999 and a record low of 36.300 2020=100 in Mar 1970. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Shizuoka City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.I032: Consumer Price Index: Housing Rent: City: 2020=100.

In March 2020, the average apartment rental prices in Poland fell in seven out of 15 analyzed cities compared to February. However, in most cities, these were small reductions (by one to two percent). The exception is Sosnowiec, where rental costs dropped by seven percent. The situation was different in Toruń, where the cost of rent increased by nine percent. Nonetheless, in 14 out of 15 cities, rental costs are still higher than last year. Only in Sosnowiec returned to the level of March 2019. In April, in 11 out of 15 analyzed cities, the average rental prices decreased compared to March this year. Despite the drops in the last two months, annual prices in the vast majority of cities are higher - even by 12 percent in Toruń and 11 percent in Szczecin.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Oslo was the Norwegian city with the highest rental prices in the country in 2024. Renting an apartment in the Norwegian capital cost nearly 29,000 Norwegian kroner per month on average, whereas Bergen ranked second, with an average monthly rent of 24,000 Norwegian kroner. The average price of residential housings in Norway was also highest in Oslo. The Nordic market Not only was Oslo the city with the highest rents in Norway, but also in the Nordic region. The capital cities of Denmark (Copenhagen) and Finland (Helsinki) ranked second and third respectively, whereas Stockholm ranked last within a list of 12 Nordic cities. In contrast, Stockholm was the most expensive city to buy an apartment in. Homeownership in Norway The high renting prices in the Norwegian capital could be explained by the renting market trends in the country. The homeownership rate fluctuated over the past decade, but overall decreased, reaching its lowest rate so far in 2020.

Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Chiba data was reported at 100.900 2020=100 in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 100.900 2020=100 for Feb 2025. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Chiba data is updated monthly, averaging 100.600 2020=100 from Jan 1970 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 663 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 109.300 2020=100 in Jun 2000 and a record low of 33.000 2020=100 in Feb 1970. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Chiba data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.I032: Consumer Price Index: Housing Rent: City: 2020=100.

This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (247 items: Carbonear; Newfoundland and Labrador; Corner Brook; Newfoundland and Labrador; Grand Falls-Windsor; Newfoundland and Labrador; Gander; Newfoundland and Labrador ...), Type of structure (4 items: Apartment structures of three units and over; Apartment structures of six units and over; Row and apartment structures of three units and over; Row structures of three units and over ...), Type of unit (4 items: Two bedroom units; Three bedroom units; One bedroom units; Bachelor units ...).

Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Miyazaki data was reported at 102.900 2020=100 in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 102.900 2020=100 for Feb 2025. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Miyazaki data is updated monthly, averaging 100.200 2020=100 from Jan 1970 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 663 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 114.200 2020=100 in Aug 1998 and a record low of 30.900 2020=100 in Jan 1970. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Miyazaki data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.I032: Consumer Price Index: Housing Rent: City: 2020=100.

Graph and download economic data for Average Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (ASPUS) from Q1 1963 to Q2 2025 about sales, housing, and USA.

Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Fukuoka City data was reported at 99.500 2020=100 in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 99.500 2020=100 for Feb 2025. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Fukuoka City data is updated monthly, averaging 98.500 2020=100 from Jan 1970 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 663 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 106.300 2020=100 in Oct 2008 and a record low of 33.400 2020=100 in Jan 1970. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Fukuoka City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.I032: Consumer Price Index: Housing Rent: City: 2020=100.

The lease price index 2019/2020 shows the following data sets:

• Lease prices of arable land by district
• Lease prices of arable land in natural areas
• Shape file with the natural spaces
• Lease prices of permanent grassland in the districts
• lease prices of permanent grassland in the - Natural areas
• Lease prices of the total agricultural area in the districts
• Lease prices of the total agricultural land in the natural areas
• Time series of average rents
• Time series of average lease prices in the main natural areas
• Average rental prices in the main natural space "Hohe Geest" between 2015 and 2020
• Average rental prices in the main natural area "Hügelland" between 2015 and 2020
• Average rent prices in the main natural area "Vorgeest" in Schleswig-Holstein between 2015 and 2020

The 3x2 data sets on districts and natural areas (arable land, permanent grassland, entire areas) can be combined into two data sets.

Prepared: Statistical Office for Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel location

https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/landesregierung/ministerien-behoerden/V/Presse/PI/2021/0721/210721_kauf_pachtspiegel.html

The average monthly asking rent per square foot of shopping center real estate in the United States increased between 2020 and 2025. This trend was observed in all regions, with the West seeing the highest rents at ***** U.S. dollars per square foot as of the first quarter of 2025. On average, asking rent for all classes across the country stood at ***** U.S. dollars.

Rent Inflation in the United States remained unchanged at 3.60 percent in September. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Rent Inflation.

Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Nagasaki data was reported at 101.700 2020=100 in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 101.700 2020=100 for Feb 2025. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Nagasaki data is updated monthly, averaging 86.100 2020=100 from Jan 1970 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 663 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 102.300 2020=100 in Dec 2022 and a record low of 20.700 2020=100 in Jan 1970. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Nagasaki data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.I032: Consumer Price Index: Housing Rent: City: 2020=100.

General description: File containing the results of the study produced by Yanport in August 2020 on the rental and capital yield of car parks in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants of metropolitan France. If you use this data please quote Yanport: https://www.yanport.com/ Corresponding Article: https://www.yanport.com/blog/posts/investir-parking-france-2020?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=parking2020 ** Tabs**: Cities: contains results for the 40 cities of Metropolitan France Variables: N_price_medium: number of properties used to calculate the average displayed price (year 2019 Q2 to 2020 Q1 included). price_medium: average price displayed in EUR (year 2019 Q2 to 2020 Q1 included). N_loyer_medium: number of properties used to calculate the average rent (year 2019 Q2 to 2020 Q1 included). rent_medium: average rent in EUR (year 2019 Q2 to 2020 Q1 included). yield_loc: rental yield in % (rent_medium*12/medium price*100) N_prix_2019: number of goods used to calculate the average displayed price in 2019. price_2019: average price displayed in 2019 in EUR. N_prix_2017: number of goods used to calculate the average displayed price in 2017. price_2017: price shown average in 2017 in EUR. yield_cap: annualised return on capital between 2017 and 2019 in %: ((price_2019/price_2017)^(1/2)-1)*100 N_pub_med: number of properties used to calculate the median publication period for rentals (including Q2 to 2020 Q1) pub_med: median publication duration for rentals in days (including Q2 to 2020 Q1). License: Open license version 2.0: https://www.etalab.gouv.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ETALAB-Licence-Ouverte-v2.0.pdf

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Residences in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SEHC) from Jan 1983 to Sep 2025 about rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.