COVID-19 has undoubtedly affected rent prices across the nation as 2 in 3 renters were financially impacted by the pandemic and in-person touring came to a halt in March and April. With so much uncertainty and need of affordability, we used our data to grab a snapshot of what rent prices looked like the week of March 15th (when Shelter-in-Place and Stay-at-Home orders began to be enacted) and compared that to the week of July 15th to see the top cities with prices on a downward trajectory.
Comparing the week of March 15th to the week of July 15th, the new cities that were added to this updated list of largest rent price drops during the pandemic were Wichita, Milwaukee, Boston, and Providence.
California and Texas cities seem to be hit the hardest this July as they made up the top four markets. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics most recent data, both states had recent unemployment rates in the double digits. Laredo, which was also the top city in our last month’s report, saw rent fall over 15% since March. San Francisco and San Jose both moved up one spot each since last month to rank as second and third. Irving was the last city in the top 4 with rent down 7.4%.
Newcomers Wichita, Milwaukee, and Boston made up the next rankings with rents all falling around 7%. Meanwhile, Nashville continued to hold steady on this top list with rent dipping 5.6%.
East coast cities Providence and Pittsburgh rounded off our top 10 list with rents both dropping around 5% since March.
See last month’s data here.
Full Data
| City | Mar 1-15 Median Rent | Jul 1-15 Median Rent | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laredo, TX | $875 | $740 | 15.43% |
| San Jose, CA | $2,549 | $2,333 | 8.49% |
| San Francisco, CA | $3,500 | $3,235 | 7.57% |
| Irving, TX | $1,126 | $1,043 | 7.37% |
| Wichita, KS | $700 | $650 | 7.14% |
| Milwaukee, WI | $1,175 | $1,095 | 6.81% |
| Boston, MA | $2,500 | $2,339 | 6.45% |
| Nashville, TN | $1,435 | $1,355 | 5.57% |
| Providence, RI | $1,500 | $1,420 | 5.33% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $1,160 | $1,099 | 5.26% |
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For a more in-depth explanation of how and why we calculate our rent data, view our methodology post.
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