Yearly rent changes continued to moderate in January. Rents were up 2.37 percent between January 2022 and 2023, the smallest yearly change in 20 months and the fifth consecutive month of single digit increases.
The increase bests the previous recent low from December by 2.4 percent, and is down nearly five percent from November 2022. Yearly growth had sustained double-digit increases for 11 months from October 2021 through September 2022. Yearly changes peaked in March 2022 at 17.5 percent.
Monthly changes were down nearly 2 percent from December to January. Four of the last five months also saw monthly declines in prices at the national level. January’s 1.88 percent decrease is the second-steepest drop over that time. The largest came in September when prices declined by 2.5 percent.
The median rental price is now $1,942, down from $1,978 in December. January’s level is the lowest median rental price since February 2022. Prices peaked in August 2022 at $2,053, after rising above $2,000 for the first time in May of that year.
Price slowdowns are being driven by broad trends across the rental industry, including increased vacancy rates, new inventory, a cooling housing market and demand that is below seasonal norms. But also by price comparisons that today are also being measured against rents that had increased by historic levels just a year ago.
In January 2022, the national median rent had increased by 15.57 percent year over year. That added nearly $230 to median rent levels, rising from close to $1,640 to $1,870. The 2.37 percent yearly rise in January 2023 added $72 to the median rent level. Over two years, rents have increased by $302 monthly, or 18.41 percent.
Let’s look at where rent prices stand today.
National rent price trends
January’s national median rental price was $1,942, down from $1,978 in December and the lowest median rental price since February 2022. Prices peaked in August 2022 at $2,053, after rising above $2,000 for the first time in May of that year.
Monthly declines in January were the lowest since September when rents were down nearly 2.5 percent month over month. Rent levels have been down on a monthly basis for four of the last five months. Yearly rent increases continued to moderate. Prices in January were up 2.4 percent. January delivered the fifth consecutive month of single-digit increases and the lowest yearly increase since June 2021.
| Rental Market Summary | January 2023 | Month-Over-Month | Year-Over-Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Monthly Rent | $1,942 | 2.37% | -1.88% |
State rent price trends
At the state level, median rents were up on a monthly basis in over half of the markets in this study. Among the biggest gainers were states in the South, including Arkansas and Mississippi, and Midwestern locales including North Dakota and Michigan. With the addition of Oregon, all five of these states saw monthly increases greater than 1.90 percent.
Four states — Colorado, Illinois, Missouri and Massachusetts — saw monthly declines greater than the national median.
More than 18 percent of state markets were down year over year. Of the eight states that saw yearly decreases, four of the top five were in the Mountain West where rents rose steadily over the pandemic as renters sought more space away from expensive metros along the West Coast.
Six of the top 10 states seeing yearly increases were in the South, an increasingly more expensive and popular destination for renters. The Dakotas in the Midwest also saw yearly increases. New Hampshire saw the third steepest increase as a popular out-of-state destination for renters in the expensive Boston metro.
| Rental Market Summary | Markets Up | Markets Down |
|---|---|---|
| Year-over-Year (January ’22 vs ’23) | 81.40% | 81.60% |
| Month-over-Month | 58.14% | 41.86% |
Year-over-year state increases
With relatively cheaper rents and high levels of inbound migration, the most significant yearly increases were mostly in Southern and Midwestern states. New York (14.81 percent) and New Hampshire (18.39 percent) were the only two Northeastern states among the ten fastest-growing markets.
- Florida (+19.74 percent)
- Mississippi (+18.57 percent)
- New Hampshire (+18.39 percent)
- South Dakota (+17.43 percent)
- Arkansas (+16.50 percent)
- Delaware (+15.62 percent)
- New York (+14.81 percent)
- North Dakota (+14.07 percent)
- Tennessee (+12.75 percent)
- Alabama (+12.50 percent)
Year-over-year state decreases
Eight states saw year-over-year price declines in January. Four of the five largest declines came from states in the Mountain West. Rents in Idaho fell for the fourth month in a row. Its 5.79 percent drop was the largest among all states in this study.
Arizona and Nevada complete the top 3 with 2.64 and 2.05 percent drops, respectively. Massachusetts, Minnesota and Washington each registered decreases of less than one percent.
- Idaho (-5.79 percent)
- Arizona (-2.64 percent)
- Nevada (-2.05 percent)
- Virginia (-1.77 percent)
- Colorado (-1.74 percent)
- Massachusetts (-0.99 percent)
- Minnesota (-0.44 percent)
- Washington (-0.12 percent)
Metro areas rent price trends
Among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas, Raleigh-Cary, NC saw the largest yearly increase in rents at 22.53 percent. Three other metros — Cleveland, OH, Indianapolis, IN, and Charlotte, NC — all registered yearly increases above 10 percent. Among the 10 largest gainers, nine were from the South or Midwest. Providence, RI, another popular destination for those moving from the Boston metro, saw the tenth-largest yearly increase at 7.30 percent.
Eleven metros saw year-over-year price declines. Phoenix, AZ saw the biggest drop at 6.73 percent, followed by Oklahoma City, OK at 6.28 percent and New Orleans, LA at 5.16 percent.
In total, seven of the eleven declining metros were from the South. The remaining four were split evenly between the West and Midwest. No Northwestern metros in this study saw yearly decreases.
The following metro areas have experienced the biggest increase in rent prices year over year.
- Raleigh-Cary, NC (+22.53 percent)
- Cleveland-Elyria, OH (+17.45 percent)
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN (+14.85 percent)
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (+14.19 percent)
- Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN (+9.83 percent)
- Kansas City, MO (+8.78 percent)
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN (+8.16 percent)
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI (+7.67 percent)
- Jacksonville, FL (+7.46 percent)
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (+7.30 percent)
The following metro areas have experienced decreases in rent prices year over year.
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ (-6.73 percent)
- Oklahoma City, OK (-6.28 percent)
- New Orleans-Metairie, LA (-5.16 percent)
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (-5.06 percent)
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (-4.92 percent)
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (-4.62 percent)
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL (-3.42 percent)
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (-3.03 percent)
- Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC (-1.75 percent)
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (-1.04 percent)
- Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX (-0.41 percent)
Rental industry trends
In addition to our pricing trends, here are a few key industry developments.
1. U.S. renters are cost-burdened nationwide
The rule of thumb when budgeting for rent is to spend no more than 30 percent of your income on monthly payments. A study released in January found the average renter in the United States is now spending 30 percent or more of their income on rent. However, in New York City, it is more than 68 percent, and in Miami, about 42 percent.
When the study’s author, Moody’s Analytics, began tracking housing affordability more than two decades ago, the average household spent 23 percent of their income on rent.
“They’re also spending less on food, less on school supplies, less on health care, clothes. Really it means less leftover for all other essentials,” Thomas LaSalvia, director of economic research at Moody’s Analytics told Marketplace.
2. Affordability challenges continue to affect prospective homebuyers
According to a recent Fannie Mae survey, “only 17 percent of respondents believe it’s a good time to buy, likely owing to the ongoing affordability challenges posed by elevated mortgage rates and home prices.”
Many prospective homebuyers are sticking to renting as reports have found it is more affordable to rent a three-bedroom home than to own a comparable one. A drastic pivot from last year’s report showed it was more affordable to own than rent.
“Rental rates did grow faster than home prices did over the last year. And in spite of that, it’s still more affordable to rent a property than it is to own a similar property in about 93 percent of the markets across the country,” Rick Sharga, the executive vice president of market intelligence, told FOX5 Atlanta about the ATTOM 2023 report.
About this report
Our February 2023 Rent Report highlights year-over-year rent trends and price fluctuations that renters may experience in various parts of the United States. We compare rent prices across bedroom types to determine which of the country’s most populated metros are becoming more affordable or more expensive for renters. States and metros with insufficient inventory are excluded from this report.
| CBSA | Population | Median Rent | YoY % Change | MoM % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | 1,448,411 | $2,119 | 22.53% | -0.66% |
| Cleveland, OH | 2,075,662 | $1,562 | 17.45% | -0.41% |
| Indianapolis, IN | 2,126,804 | $1,504 | 14.85% | 0.85% |
| Charlotte, NC | 2,701,046 | $1,959 | 14.19% | 2.78% |
| Nashville, TN | 2,012,476 | $2,073 | 9.83% | -1.23% |
| Kansas City, MO | 2,199,490 | $1,530 | 8.78% | 0.46% |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | 1,284,566 | $1,389 | 8.16% | 3.75% |
| Milwaukee, WI | 1,566,487 | $1,685 | 7.67% | 1.71% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 1,637,666 | $1,653 | 7.46% | 3.64% |
| Providence, RI | 1,675,774 | $2,257 | 7.30% | -0.33% |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 1,263,061 | $1,873 | 7.15% | -16.96% |
| Columbus, OH | 2,151,017 | $1,580 | 6.20% | 0.88% |
| New York, NY | 19,768,458 | $4,015 | 6.04% | -0.45% |
| Buffalo, NY | 1,162,336 | $1,560 | 5.73% | -3.23% |
| Memphis, TN | 1,336,103 | $1,549 | 5.20% | 1.88% |
| Las Vegas, NV | 2,292,476 | $1,846 | 4.98% | 2.27% |
| Boston, MA | 4,899,932 | $3,707 | 4.70% | -0.76% |
| San Diego, CA | 3,286,069 | $3,290 | 4.68% | 0.39% |
| San Jose, CA | 1,952,185 | $3,525 | 3.92% | 1.69% |
| Orlando, FL | 2,691,925 | $2,109 | 3.88% | -0.97% |
| Riverside, CA | 4,653,105 | $2,747 | 3.51% | 2.68% |
| Miami, FL | 6,091,747 | $3,094 | 3.51% | -2.00% |
| Tampa, FL | 3,219,514 | $2,197 | 3.50% | 1.85% |
| Atlanta, GA | 6,144,050 | $2,085 | 2.44% | 2.12% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 2,353,538 | $1,785 | 2.35% | 0.65% |
| St. Louis, MO | 2,809,299 | $1,534 | 2.25% | -1.29% |
| Denver, CO | 2,972,566 | $2,744 | 1.79% | -0.50% |
| Hartford, CT | 1,211,906 | $2,050 | 1.64% | 2.81% |
| San Francisco, CA | 4,623,264 | $3,641 | 1.21% | -0.80% |
| Washington, DC | 6,356,434 | $2,600 | 1.20% | 1.13% |
| Detroit, MI | 4,365,205 | $1,593 | 1.17% | -0.41% |
| San Antonio, TX | 2,601,788 | $1,431 | 1.15% | -1.67% |
| Portland, OR | 2,511,612 | $2,485 | 1.02% | 0.70% |
| Dallas, TX | 7,759,615 | $2,124 | 0.94% | -0.34% |
| Cincinnati, OH | 2,259,935 | $1,530 | 0.92% | 0.97% |
| Richmond, VA | 1,324,062 | $1,741 | 0.85% | 0.52% |
| Los Angeles, CA | 12,997,353 | $3,402 | 0.76% | 0.71% |
| Sacramento, CA | 2,411,428 | $2,746 | 0.47% | 1.04% |
| Philadelphia, PA | 6,228,601 | $2,308 | 0.05% | 2.19% |
| Austin, TX | 2,352,426 | $2,247 | -0.41% | -1.00% |
| Seattle, WA | 4,011,553 | $2,764 | -1.04% | -1.57% |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 1,803,328 | $1,638 | -1.75% | -1.49% |
| Chicago, IL | 9,509,934 | $2,289 | -3.03% | -0.24% |
| Birmingham, AL | 1,114,262 | $1,539 | -3.42% | -0.36% |
| Baltimore, MD | 2,838,327 | $1,954 | -4.62% | -1.23% |
| Houston, TX | 7,206,841 | $1,775 | -4.92% | 1.73% |
| Minneapolis, MN | 3,690,512 | $1,736 | -5.06% | 1.86% |
| New Orleans, LA | 1,261,726 | $1,645 | -5.16% | -6.12% |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 1,441,647 | $1,195 | -6.28% | 1.81% |
| Phoenix, AZ | 4,946,145 | $2,016 | -6.73% | 0.62% |
Methodology
We analyzed rental property prices in January 2022, the last full month of data, from Rent.’s available inventory to identify our median rent prices at the national, state and metro levels. Our analysis combines inventory and bedroom types into one simple median that covers all available rental units at the time.
The top 50 metropolitan areas in our analysis are determined by U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for 2021.
More detailed information about our methodology can be found here.
The rent information included in this article is used for illustrative purposes only. The data contained herein do not constitute financial advice or a pricing guarantee for any apartment. The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or financial advice. Readers are encouraged to seek professional legal or financial advice as they may deem it necessary.
