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.

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

Graph and download economic data for Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States (RRVRUSQ156N) from Q1 1956 to Q2 2025 about vacancy, rent, rate, and USA.

Comprehensive dataset of 53 Virtual office rentals in Nevada, United States as of July, 2025. Includes verified contact information (email, phone), geocoded addresses, customer ratings, reviews, business categories, and operational details. Perfect for market research, lead generation, competitive analysis, and business intelligence. Download a complimentary sample to evaluate data quality and completeness.

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Median monthly rental prices for the private rental market in England by bedroom category, region and administrative area, calculated using data from the Valuation Office Agency and Office for National Statistics.

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Comprehensive dataset of 28 Virtual office rentals in Oregon, United States as of July, 2025. Includes verified contact information (email, phone), geocoded addresses, customer ratings, reviews, business categories, and operational details. Perfect for market research, lead generation, competitive analysis, and business intelligence. Download a complimentary sample to evaluate data quality and completeness.

Information on median gross rents

The rent for office spaces in the United States is expected to continue to increase at a moderate pace until 2027, after rising by less than two percent in 2022. The strongest growth is forecast in 2027, when the average effective rent is projected to rise by *** percent.

United States Housing Vacancy Rate: Rental data was reported at 6.800 % in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.000 % for Mar 2018. United States Housing Vacancy Rate: Rental data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.400 % from Mar 1956 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 250 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.100 % in Sep 2009 and a record low of 5.000 % in Dec 1981. United States Housing Vacancy Rate: Rental data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.EB008: Housing Vacancy and Home Ownership Rate.

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

United States Number of Housing Unit: Vacant: Year Round: For Rent data was reported at 3,343.000 Unit th in Sep 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 3,206.000 Unit th for Jun 2018. United States Number of Housing Unit: Vacant: Year Round: For Rent data is updated quarterly, averaging 2,802.000 Unit th from Mar 1965 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 215 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,588.000 Unit th in Sep 2009 and a record low of 1,120.000 Unit th in Dec 1969. United States Number of Housing Unit: Vacant: Year Round: For Rent data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.EB011: Number of Housing Units. Series Remarks Data for 1979 Q1 to Q4 was revised to reflect changes made in 1980. Data for 1989 Q1 to Q4 was revised to include year-round vacant mobile homes. Data for 1993 Q1 to Q4 was revised based on the 1990 Census. Data for 2002 Q1 to Q4 was revised based on the 2000 Census.

Rental rates in the United States increased steadily since 2008. In 2024, the producer price index for gross rent in office buildings reached ****** index points. This means that between 2008 when the index value was set to 100 and 2024, gross office rents grew by about ***** percent. Manhattan, San Francisco, and Boston are among the biggest and most expensive markets for office space in the United States.

Comprehensive dataset of 111 Virtual office rentals in Georgia, United States as of July, 2025. Includes verified contact information (email, phone), geocoded addresses, customer ratings, reviews, business categories, and operational details. Perfect for market research, lead generation, competitive analysis, and business intelligence. Download a complimentary sample to evaluate data quality and completeness.

The Back Bay district was the most expensive real estate market for office space in Boston in the third quarter of 2024. On average, the average asking rent was about ** U.S. dollars per square foot of office space. Downtown Boston, the market with the largest inventory of office space among Boston districts, had the second highest rent, at about ** U.S. dollars. The gross rental rate usually includes costs for utilities and other general maintenance expenses.

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