Rent in the 50 largest US cities are now cheaper than they were a year ago, with significant reductions in southern cities that were real estate hotspots during the pandemic, including Austin, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Median rent prices in these cities dropped by 0.5% in the last year, according to an analysis by Realtor.com. For renters, the decrease is a much-needed break after rent prices soared by nearly 25% from 2020 through most of 2021.
The following cities had the largest year-over-year rent price decreases as of May 2023, based on Realtor.com’s most recent data:
- Las Vegas: -6%
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California: -5.9%
- Phoenix: -5.7%
- Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas: -5.6%
- San Francisco Bay Area: -4%
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida: -4%
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: -3.6%
- Charlotte, North Carolina: -3.5%
- Sacramento, Calif.: -3.5%
- Atlanta: -3.1%
- denver: -3%
Notably, many of these cities are hubs for tech jobs, which have been hit hard by layoffs in the last year. This, alongside a growing number of newly constructed apartments, has likely driven down rent prices, the study says.
At the same time, rent costs have steadily increased in many major Midwest and Northeast cities. In Columbus, Ohio, rent prices grew by 9.3% — the highest increase of all cities.
Similarly, rent grew in New York City by 6.8%, in Pittsburgh by 3.8% and in Boston by 3.3%. This potentially reflects a more robust labor market in these regions compared to the South and Southwest, according to Realtor.com.
Data for this study was compiled using studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom unit listings on Realtor.com’s website. These units include apartments as well as private rentals. Some cities were excluded from the study due to limitations in the rental data: Buffalo, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; New Orleans; Providence, Rhode Island; and Rochester, New York.
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