Zumper’s National Rent Report showed yet another month of mixed changes. While the top rental market prices did not experience much shuffling in rankings, the mid and lower tier markets continued to be more volatile. Overall, the Zumper National Rent Index reported that one bedroom median rent remained unchanged at $1,169, while two bedroom median rent increased 0.2% to $1,392. Check out the table below to see how prices in your city have changed.
Top Five Rental Markets
1. San Francisco, CA ranked as the most expensive city for renters in this month’s national rent report despite experiencing no changes for both one ($3,370) and two bedroom ($4,500) apartments. Compared to this time last year, median rent for one bedroom units is down 6.1%, while two bedroom rent is down 6.3%.
2. New York, NY saw its apartment prices fall this month. One bedroom rent dropped 0.3% to $2,900 this month. Two bedroom prices experienced a similar trend, dropping 1.4% this May to $3,400.
3. San Jose, CA had a month of strong growth for its one bedroom apartments. Median rent hiked up almost 5% to $2,370. Growth for two bedroom prices was much lower, increasing only 0.7% to $2,870.
4. Boston, MA’s prices remained flat this month again. One and two bedroom apartments stayed stable at $2,200 and $2,600, respectively.
5. Washington, DC pulled itself into the top five after a month of huge price spikes. Rent for one bedroom apartments shot up 4.9% to $2,160, while the two bedroom median price increased 4.9% to $3,190.
Notable Changes This May
Upward
– Portland, OR‘s one bedroom prices jumped 3.7%, raising the median rent to $1,370 and bringing Portland three spots higher to 14th. Two bedroom prices, on the other hand, saw much more modest growth, at 0.7%, with median rent at $1,600.
– New Orleans, LA moved up three spots with significant growth in prices. New Orleans renters saw one bedroom median rent rise 3.1% to $1,330.
– Houston, TX pulled itself up in the rankings after moving down quite a few spots last month. The 4.6% increase in one bedroom prices brought the median rent to $1,140 and Houston to the 27th spot.
– Virginia Beach, VA slingshot itself up seven spots after its huge 5.4% growth for one bedroom median rent, now $970. For two bedroom apartments, rent rose 2.6% to $1,180.
– Bakersfield, CA moved up four spots for a four way tie at 67th. Substantial growth in one bedroom prices, up 4.2%, brought the median rent to $750. Two bedroom rent was no stranger to rising prices as median rent surged 4.7% to $890.
Downward
– Fort Lauderdale, FL moved down to 13th on the list after slipping one spot this month. Median rent for one bedroom units was $1,550, down 2.5%, and for two bedroom units was $1,900, down 2.6%.
– Providence, RI reported negative month over month and year over year growth rates for both one and two bedroom units. One bedroom median rent fell to $1,330, down 1.5% this month and 11.3% compared to last year. Two bedroom prices followed suit, decreasing to $1,400.
– Scottsdale, AZ fell another three spots to 25th. One bedroom prices dropped 4% this month, bringing the median rent to $1,200. Two bedroom apartment prices decreased to $2000, marking a 3.8% decline.
– Richmond, VA plummeted in the rankings, dropping nine spots this month. One bedroom median rent sunk 5.1% to $940.
– St Louis, MO moved down six spots to 80th. One bedroom prices dipped 4.3% to $670 while two bedroom rent dropped 3% to $970.
Full Dataset
| One Bedroom | Two Bedrooms | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | City | Price | M/M % | Y/Y % | Price | M/M % | Y/Y % |
| 1 | Coronado | $2,830 | 4.80% | -15.00% | $3,900 | 5.10% | -0.80% |
| 2 | Carlsbad | $1,710 | 2.40% | 6.90% | $2,400 | 4.80% | 12.10% |
| 3 | Encinitas | $1,700 | 0.00% | 3.00% | $2,760 | -4.80% | 4.90% |
| 4 | San Diego | $1,600 | 0.60% | 6.70% | $2,200 | 1.90% | 4.80% |
| 5 | San Marcos | $1,540 | 4.80% | 4.10% | $1,830 | -3.20% | 0.50% |
| 6 | Poway | $1,500 | -2.00% | -2.00% | $1,750 | 4.80% | 0.60% |
| 7 | Oceanside | $1,470 | 0.70% | 5.00% | $1,840 | 2.20% | 7.60% |
| 8 | Vista | $1,450 | -4.60% | -5.20% | $1,670 | -2.30% | 0.00% |
| 9 | Chula Vista | $1,400 | -3.40% | 11.10% | $1,930 | 2.70% | 10.90% |
| 10 | Escondido | $1,360 | -2.20% | 15.30% | $1,700 | 3.00% | 11.80% |
| 11 | Santee | $1,330 | -5.00% | 6.40% | $1,600 | 0.00% | 3.20% |
| 12 | La Mesa | $1,320 | -5.00% | -2.20% | $1,700 | -1.70% | 6.30% |
| 13 | Imperial Beach | $1,290 | 2.40% | 15.20% | $1,660 | 2.50% | 9.20% |
| 14 | El Cajon | $1,200 | -2.40% | 9.10% | $1,530 | 0.00% | 10.90% |
| 14 | National City | $1,200 | -4.80% | 7.10% | $1,600 | -2.40% | -1.20% |
About
The Zumper National Rent Report analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, providing a comprehensive view of the current state of the market. The report is based on all data available in the month prior to publication.
To keep up to date with rent changes across the country, like or follow Zumper on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In the market for a new place? Search apartments for rent on Zumper.
Related content
