Housing

Average US Rent Cost Rises 3% to All-Time High of $1,405

Paul Ausick

Published: July 6, 2018 12:15 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 9:23 pm

For the first time, the average U.S. rental unit costs more than $1,400, setting a new record for rent at $1,405. As with all averages, rents can cost a lot more in some U.S. cities and a lot less in others.

In the country’s largest cities (population of at least 600,000), the average rent rose the most in Las Vegas (7%) and the least in Baltimore (0.6%). New York City’s Manhattan saw the second-lowest growth of 1.5%, and Phoenix was ranked second for most growth with an increase of 6.4%.

The data were reported Friday by RENTCafé, a national apartment search website. The report is based exclusively on apartment data related to buildings containing 50 or more units and includes cities with populations over 100,000 and a rental stock of at least 2,900 apartments in 50+ unit buildings.

The largest year-over-year increases among cities of all sizes were 38.8% in Midland and 36.6% in Odessa, both in Texas, and the hubs of the oil- and gas-rich Permian Basin, where the number of oil rigs put to work in the past year skyrocketed as oil prices rose.

In addition to Midland and Odessa, rents rose fastest in Lancaster, Californina (10.2%); Reno, Nevada (9.9%); and Peoria, Arizona (9.6%). Rent fell the most in Lubbock, Texas (down 1.1%); McAllen, Texas (down 1.2%); Baton Rouge, Louisiana (down 1.3%); Norman, Oklahoma (down 1.8%); and Brownsville, Texas (down 1.9%).

Half of the 10 U.S. cities where average rent was highest in June are located in or near the Silicon Valley of northern California. Here’s the list:

1. Manhattan, New York: $4,116
2. San Francisco, California: $3,561
3. Boston, Massachusetts: $3,374
4. San Mateo, California: $3,269
5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: $3,111
6. Sunnyvale, California: $2,945
7. Santa Clara, California: $2,902
8. Jersey City, New Jersey: $2,880
9. Brooklyn, New York: $2,801
10. San Jose, California: $2,744

Half of the cities where rent was lowest in June are located in Texas and Oklahoma. Here’s the list:

1. Wichita, Kansas: $639
2. Brownsville, Texas: $675
3. Tulsa, Oklahoma: $676
4. Killeen, Texas: $699
5. Toledo, Ohio: $703
6. Amarillo, Texas: $730
7. Independence, Missouri: $733
8. Dayton, Ohio: $737
9. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: $741
10. Fort Wayne, Indiana: $750

Visit the RENTCafé website for more details and an interactive list of rental prices by unit sizes in 250 U.S. cities.