Notable Trends:
- National one-bedroom rents continue to reach new highs, and a brutal rental market is forcing renters to sacrifice on location, size or amenities; move in with roommates; or even opt out of the traditional 12 month lease altogether.
- New York City remains the priciest city in the nation. Median one-bedroom rent throughout the city is up 39.9 percent year-over-year and two-bedroom median is up 46.7 percent. Price increases are especially drastic in Brooklyn, where two-bedrooms are up 61 percent year-over-year.
- Fresno, CA and Tulsa, OK have seen especially fast price hikes: Fresno’s one-bedroom median is up 40 percent year-over-year and Tulsa’s is up 38.9 percent.
Prospective renters get creative in response to crushing inflation
Much of the national conversation about inflation has focused on groceries and gas–everyday purchases impacting nearly every American. But people looking for a new home are suffering from the biggest sticker shock. Grocery prices are up 13.1 percent year-over-year, the highest increase in more than four decades. Yet, Zumper’s data shows double-digit year-over-year rent hikes in more than half of U.S. cities, with several cities posting hikes of 30 percent or more. Just two cities on Zumper’s top 100 list show a year-over-year decline in one-bedroom rent: Des Moines, IA is down 12 percent over last year, and Cleveland, OH is down 5.4 percent.
“Current asking rents are simply out of reach for many Americans, especially young people,” explains Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades. “We’ve seen Zumper users sacrifice on space, location, amenities and roommates for years; more recently, we’ve noticed some are getting creative as they search for an affordable home. Many renters are turning to short-term rentals to fill a temporary gap in housing, especially if they can’t afford hefty deposits and move-in fees.”
This discovery led to Zumper’s announcement of a comprehensive short-term rental offering to complement its inventory of traditional long-term listings. Recent research found that a third of Zumper users are interested in flexible rentals. Of that segment, 35.2 percent said they use short-term rentals to accommodate a temporary gap in housing, and 84 percent will eventually end up in a long-term rental.
New York’s new normal
New York City prices continue to skyrocket, with no peak in sight as people relocate to the city in greater numbers than in pre-pandemic times. The city’s median one-bedroom rent of $3,930 is a record high for any city in the United States and represents a 4 percent increase month-over-month and a 39.9 percent increase year-over-year. New York’s two bedroom median is now $4,400, a 6 percent month-over-month jump and a 46.7 percent year-over-year increase. Renters looking for a new home are experiencing the most competitive market in modern history, with bidding wars and sight-unseen lease signings becoming the norm.
Breaking New York City prices down by borough reveals even more shocking price increases in the desirable areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Median one-bedroom rent in Brooklyn is $3,927, a 45 percent jump over the same time last year; the borough’s median two-bedroom price of $4,506 is a whopping 61 year-over-year increase. Manhattan’s median one-bedroom price of $4,212 is a 27 percent increase over last year; at $5,283, Manhattan two-bedrooms are up 33 percent year-over-year. Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island one-bedroom prices are up 18 percent, 17 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
NYC one-bedroom rent yearly changes by borough
NYC two-bedroom rent yearly changes by borough
Surprising boomtowns: Fresno, CA; Tulsa, OK
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen massive, continued price increases throughout the Sun Belt and Intermountain West, while many cities in the Central and Western states have been slower to recover. But a few interesting outliers are worth noting.
At $1,540, Fresno’s one-bedroom median is 40 percent higher than the same time last year—the biggest increase in the country. As cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento lose population, Fresno has seen a gradual but steady population increase. Some new residents were drawn to California’s fifth-largest city from more-expensive cities along the Pacific Coast, a trend that intensified during the pandemic. But this pattern actually predates the pandemic. Amazon opened a Fresno warehouse in 2019, bringing thousands of jobs to the area; earlier this year, Amazon announced an additional warehouse that will bring more than 500 jobs.
The number of relocations to Fresno has inspired investors to take over existing properties and increase asking prices. This isn’t strictly good news for Fresno, which is the poorest major city in California. Current residents—a majority of whom are minorities—are facing an affordability crisis and growing inequalities in housing opportunities.
Tulsa’s year-over-year increase in one-bedroom median rent is 38.9 percent, behind only New York and Fresno. The city’s initiative to attract remote workers with perks, including a $10,000 stipend and free coworking space, has lured nearly 2,000 residents. At the same time, Oklahoma’s 2018 legalization of medical marijuana has drawn cannabis growers and entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on the state’s relatively lax regulations. The state now has more cannabis farms than California and more cannabis stores than Colorado, Oregon and Washington combined.
All these new residents have helped speed up ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Tulsa, where a growing number of businesses provide the upscale coffee, trendy restaurants and arts scene familiar to coastal transplants.
Southeastern cities show signs of leveling off
Prices throughout the Southeast surged dramatically throughout the pandemic as remote workers relocated in favor of warmer weather, more space and lower cost of living. But as those migration patterns slow, prices in some of the more popular Zoomtowns are starting to level off. One-bedroom median rent posted slight month-over-month losses in Nashville, Memphis, Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg. Miami rent continues to climb: at $2,520, the city’s one-bedroom median is 0.8 percent over last month and 34 percent year-over-year. But in the new (ab)normal of 2022, anything under a full percentage point of month-over-month growth can be considered modest—especially compared to this spring, when Miami was the third most expensive city in the United States (it’s since fallen to sixth).
Full Data
| 1 Bedroom | 2 Bedrooms | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Ranking Change | City | Price | M/M% | Y/Y% | Price | M/M% | Y/Y% |
| 1 | 0 | New York, NY | $3,930 | 4.00% | 39.90% | $4,400 | 6.00% | 46.70% |
| 2 | 0 | San Francisco, CA | $3,040 | -1.90% | 8.60% | $4,200 | 0.70% | 9.70% |
| 3 | 0 | San Jose, CA | $2,780 | 2.60% | 26.40% | $3,280 | 0.90% | 20.60% |
| 4 | 0 | Boston, MA | $2,730 | 5.00% | 18.70% | $3,170 | 5.70% | 16.10% |
| 5 | 1 | San Diego, CA | $2,580 | 6.20% | 29.00% | $3,260 | 5.80% | 20.70% |
| 6 | -1 | Miami, FL | $2,520 | 0.80% | 34.00% | $3,410 | 3.30% | 37.50% |
| 7 | 1 | Los Angeles, CA | $2,450 | 2.10% | 19.50% | $3,290 | 1.20% | 17.50% |
| 8 | -1 | Washington, DC | $2,370 | -1.70% | 9.70% | $3,240 | 0.30% | 11.30% |
| 9 | 0 | Oakland, CA | $2,200 | 0.00% | 10.00% | $2,800 | -2.10% | 7.70% |
| 10 | 0 | Santa Ana, CA | $2,160 | 4.30% | 18.00% | $2,770 | -4.80% | 20.40% |
| 11 | 1 | Seattle, WA | $2,000 | 1.50% | 21.20% | $2,810 | 4.90% | 32.50% |
| 11 | 0 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | $2,000 | -1.50% | 20.50% | $2,970 | 2.40% | 25.80% |
| 13 | 2 | Anaheim, CA | $1,950 | 2.60% | 10.80% | $2,700 | 3.80% | 25.00% |
| 14 | 0 | Scottsdale, AZ | $1,900 | -0.50% | 8.00% | $2,460 | 4.70% | 7.00% |
| 15 | -2 | Chicago, IL | $1,830 | -6.20% | 26.20% | $2,120 | -5.80% | 22.50% |
| 16 | 3 | Tampa, FL | $1,800 | 1.70% | 34.30% | $2,040 | 0.50% | 28.30% |
| 16 | 2 | Providence, RI | $1,800 | 1.10% | 20.00% | $1,930 | 4.90% | 14.20% |
| 16 | 0 | Long Beach, CA | $1,800 | 0.00% | 12.50% | $2,400 | 0.00% | 11.60% |
| 19 | -2 | Nashville, TN | $1,780 | -0.60% | 29.00% | $1,900 | 3.30% | 26.70% |
| 20 | 0 | Atlanta, GA | $1,770 | 0.60% | 6.60% | $2,220 | 0.90% | 4.70% |
| 21 | -1 | Denver, CO | $1,740 | -1.10% | 13.70% | $2,410 | 3.00% | 16.40% |
| 22 | 0 | Orlando, FL | $1,700 | -0.60% | 16.40% | $1,990 | 2.60% | 23.60% |
| 23 | 2 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $1,690 | 4.30% | 15.80% | $2,300 | 6.00% | 7.00% |
| 24 | 2 | Sacramento, CA | $1,660 | 3.80% | 11.40% | $1,920 | -1.50% | 2.70% |
| 25 | -1 | Austin, TX | $1,650 | 0.60% | 20.40% | $2,070 | 0.50% | 19.70% |
| 26 | -3 | Gilbert, AZ | $1,640 | -1.80% | 1.20% | $1,870 | 5.10% | -1.10% |
| 27 | 1 | Henderson, NV | $1,590 | 0.60% | 12.00% | $1,820 | 1.10% | 13.00% |
| 28 | 7 | Chandler, AZ | $1,580 | 6.00% | 3.90% | $1,940 | 1.60% | 11.50% |
| 29 | -2 | St. Petersburg, FL | $1,570 | -1.30% | 12.10% | $2,190 | -0.50% | 11.70% |
| 29 | 0 | New Orleans, LA | $1,570 | 0.60% | 9.80% | $1,900 | 3.80% | 11.80% |
| 31 | 1 | Fresno, CA | $1,540 | 2.70% | 40.00% | $1,740 | -0.60% | 21.70% |
| 32 | 0 | Charlotte, NC | $1,500 | 0.00% | 9.50% | $1,710 | -0.60% | 8.20% |
| 32 | -1 | Portland, OR | $1,500 | -1.30% | 7.10% | $1,800 | -2.70% | 2.30% |
| 34 | 4 | Philadelphia, PA | $1,470 | 2.80% | 8.90% | $1,770 | 1.10% | 4.10% |
| 35 | -5 | Plano, TX | $1,450 | -5.80% | 11.50% | $2,050 | -1.00% | 18.50% |
| 35 | -3 | Boise, ID | $1,450 | -3.30% | 10.70% | $1,600 | 0.00% | 11.90% |
| 37 | 0 | Dallas, TX | $1,430 | -2.10% | 6.70% | $2,000 | 0.50% | 11.70% |
| 38 | 3 | Phoenix, AZ | $1,420 | 6.00% | 18.30% | $1,710 | 1.80% | 13.20% |
| 39 | 2 | Virginia Beach, VA | $1,400 | 4.50% | 13.80% | $1,630 | -0.60% | 16.40% |
| 40 | -4 | Irving, TX | $1,390 | -6.10% | 12.10% | $1,810 | -0.50% | 11.00% |
| 41 | 3 | Mesa, AZ | $1,370 | 4.60% | 24.50% | $1,690 | -0.60% | 18.20% |
| 41 | 9 | Chesapeake, VA | $1,370 | 6.20% | 24.50% | $1,420 | 6.00% | 9.20% |
| 43 | 9 | Richmond, VA | $1,360 | 6.30% | 27.10% | $1,540 | 0.70% | 18.50% |
| 44 | 6 | Glendale, AZ | $1,350 | 4.70% | 25.00% | $1,650 | 1.20% | 24.10% |
| 44 | 0 | Newark, NJ | $1,350 | 3.10% | 8.00% | $1,770 | 4.70% | 16.40% |
| 44 | -5 | Reno, NV | $1,350 | -2.20% | 7.10% | $1,740 | -0.60% | 6.70% |
| 44 | 10 | Durham, NC | $1,350 | 6.30% | 7.10% | $1,630 | 1.20% | 15.60% |
| 44 | -1 | Madison, WI | $1,350 | 2.30% | 5.50% | $1,450 | -2.00% | -2.70% |
| 44 | -4 | Baltimore, MD | $1,350 | -1.50% | 3.80% | $1,550 | -0.60% | 6.20% |
| 50 | -4 | Aurora, CO | $1,340 | 3.10% | 17.50% | $1,800 | -0.60% | 13.20% |
| 51 | -5 | Houston, TX | $1,310 | 0.80% | 19.10% | $1,520 | -4.40% | 7.80% |
| 52 | -6 | Las Vegas, NV | $1,300 | 0.00% | 16.10% | $1,580 | -3.10% | 16.20% |
| 53 | 3 | Pittsburgh, PA | $1,290 | 3.20% | 14.20% | $1,540 | 2.00% | 13.20% |
| 54 | 1 | Salt Lake City, UT | $1,280 | 1.60% | 10.30% | $1,670 | 5.00% | 19.30% |
| 55 | -9 | Jacksonville, FL | $1,260 | -3.10% | 22.30% | $1,500 | 0.00% | 20.00% |
| 56 | 1 | Minneapolis, MN | $1,240 | 0.00% | 7.80% | $1,710 | 1.20% | 4.90% |
| 57 | 4 | Norfolk, VA | $1,230 | 6.00% | 20.60% | $1,450 | 4.30% | 19.80% |
| 57 | 4 | Raleigh, NC | $1,230 | 6.00% | 4.20% | $1,600 | -1.20% | 18.50% |
| 59 | -7 | Knoxville, TN | $1,220 | -4.70% | 25.80% | $1,550 | 5.40% | 36.00% |
| 59 | 0 | Chattanooga, TN | $1,220 | 0.80% | 10.90% | $1,310 | -3.70% | 5.60% |
| 59 | 4 | Cleveland, OH | $1,220 | 6.10% | -5.40% | $1,270 | 5.80% | -5.20% |
| 62 | -2 | Colorado Springs, CO | $1,200 | 0.00% | 15.40% | $1,520 | 0.70% | 9.40% |
| 63 | 1 | Columbus, OH | $1,190 | 6.30% | 26.60% | $1,250 | -1.60% | 13.60% |
| 63 | -5 | Fort Worth, TX | $1,190 | -3.30% | 14.40% | $1,630 | 1.90% | 18.10% |
| 65 | -1 | San Antonio, TX | $1,120 | 0.00% | 12.00% | $1,400 | -0.70% | 12.90% |
| 65 | 6 | Buffalo, NY | $1,120 | 5.70% | 6.70% | $1,200 | 0.80% | 5.30% |
| 67 | 0 | Spokane, WA | $1,100 | 0.00% | 7.80% | $1,420 | 2.20% | 11.80% |
| 68 | 3 | Louisville, KY | $1,090 | 2.80% | 22.50% | $1,280 | 5.80% | 29.30% |
| 68 | 7 | Indianapolis, IN | $1,090 | 3.80% | 17.20% | $1,270 | 3.30% | 27.00% |
| 70 | -2 | Bakersfield, CA | $1,070 | -0.90% | 18.90% | $1,300 | -2.30% | 13.00% |
| 71 | -3 | Arlington, TX | $1,060 | -1.90% | 14.00% | $1,480 | 0.70% | 14.70% |
| 72 | -8 | Anchorage, AK | $1,050 | -6.30% | 1.00% | $1,390 | 4.50% | 13.90% |
| 73 | -2 | Greensboro, NC | $1,020 | -3.80% | 25.90% | $1,160 | -0.90% | 31.80% |
| 73 | -3 | Detroit, MI | $1,020 | -4.70% | 20.00% | $1,100 | -1.80% | 5.80% |
| 73 | 3 | Lincoln, NE | $1,020 | 0.00% | 17.20% | $1,200 | -4.00% | 16.50% |
| 73 | 6 | St. Louis, MO | $1,020 | 3.00% | 9.70% | $1,350 | 1.50% | 7.10% |
| 73 | 4 | Rochester, NY | $1,020 | 2.00% | 0.00% | $1,200 | 0.00% | -5.50% |
| 78 | 4 | Winston Salem, NC | $1,010 | 4.10% | 18.80% | $1,140 | 5.60% | 15.20% |
| 78 | 6 | Cincinnati, OH | $1,010 | 6.30% | 9.80% | $1,280 | 0.80% | 16.40% |
| 80 | 2 | Tulsa, OK | $1,000 | 3.10% | 38.90% | $1,110 | -2.60% | 23.30% |
| 80 | -9 | Kansas, City, MO | $1,000 | -5.70% | 5.30% | $1,200 | -0.80% | 0.00% |
| 80 | 6 | Milwaukee, WI | $1,000 | 6.40% | 5.30% | $1,190 | 5.30% | 8.20% |
| 83 | 5 | Corpus Christi, TX | $990 | 6.50% | 16.50% | $1,270 | 5.80% | 17.60% |
| 84 | -5 | Memphis, TN | $970 | -2.00% | 9.00% | $1,020 | -1.90% | 8.50% |
| 85 | -8 | Tucson, AZ | $960 | -4.00% | 18.50% | $1,300 | 0.00% | 22.60% |
| 86 | -2 | Augusta, GA | $950 | 0.00% | 6.70% | $1,120 | 1.80% | 13.10% |
| 87 | -6 | Omaha, NE | $930 | -5.10% | 10.70% | $1,400 | -0.70% | 20.70% |
| 88 | 4 | Baton Rouge, LA | $920 | 5.70% | 10.80% | $1,090 | 0.00% | 11.20% |
| 89 | 0 | Albuquerque, NM | $900 | 0.00% | 16.90% | $1,300 | 4.80% | 26.20% |
| 89 | 4 | Tallahassee, FL | $900 | 4.70% | 11.10% | $1,200 | 4.30% | 23.70% |
| 91 | -1 | El Paso, TX | $880 | -1.10% | 14.30% | $1,120 | 0.00% | 15.50% |
| 91 | 0 | Syracuse, NY | $880 | 0.00% | 6.00% | $1,220 | -6.20% | 18.40% |
| 91 | -5 | Des Moines, IA | $880 | -6.40% | -12.00% | $960 | -4.00% | -8.60% |
| 94 | 1 | Laredo, TX | $850 | 1.20% | 11.80% | $1,010 | -1.00% | 9.80% |
| 94 | -1 | Oklahoma City, OK | $850 | -1.20% | 6.30% | $1,000 | 1.00% | 9.90% |
| 96 | 0 | Lexington, KY | $810 | 6.60% | 5.20% | $1,120 | 5.70% | 12.00% |
| 97 | 0 | Shreveport, LA | $740 | 0.00% | 8.80% | $830 | 0.00% | 3.80% |
| 98 | 0 | Lubbock, TX | $720 | 2.90% | 5.90% | $920 | 1.10% | 8.20% |
| 99 | -1 | Wichita, KS | $690 | -1.40% | 11.30% | $850 | 2.40% | 6.30% |
| 100 | 0 | Akron, OH | $650 | 1.60% | 3.20% | $830 | 3.80% | 9.20% |
About
The Zumper National Rent Report analyzes rental data from over one million active listings across the country. Listings are then aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 most populous cities, providing a comprehensive view of the current state of the market. The report is based on all data available in the month of publication. Any data that is reported does not include short term listings. View our full methodology here.
To keep up to date with rent changes across the country, like or follow Zumper on Facebook and Twitter. In the market for a new place? Search apartments for rent on Zumper.
