Rents Are Falling Nearly Everywhere—but Rising in These Surprising Cities

Nationwide, rents have been falling annually—but not everywhere.

The median asking rent in the 50 largest metros for June was $1,743, which is $7 less than what renters paid in June 2023, according to a new Realtor.com® report.

Yet renters in certain cities are still getting gouged by rising prices. Midwest rental markets have experienced substantial year-over-year increases in June. Rental prices rose the most annually in Indianapolis, where renters paid 4.4% more than they did a year ago, with average rents clocking in at $1,353 a month.

Following Indianapolis was Milwaukee, with June prices increasing 3.7% year over year, to a median of $1,717 per month. Rents in Minneapolis also ticked up by 3.7%, to a median of $1,549 per month.

Metros where rents have risen the most since COVID-19

If you look back even further, certain cities experienced rapid rent growth over the past five years as they gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Southern cities seemed particularly prone to feverish rental inflation, and the metro seeing the highest rise since the pandemic was Tampa, FL. In June, the median asking rent here was $1,752, which is 39.5% higher than in 2019. This means a household now needs to pay an extra $496 per month to rent an apartment with zero to two bedrooms.

The other Southern city that saw the highest rent increases since 2019 was Miami (up 39.2%, or $673 per month).

Other markets where rents rose since the pandemic

The top market in the Midwest experiencing the fastest rent growth since 2019 was yet again Indianapolis. Here, the median asking rent in June was $1,353, 37.5% higher than before the pandemic. This means an Indianapolis household now pays an extra $369 per month to rent a typical apartment with zero to two bedrooms compared with five years earlier.

In the Northeast, Pittsburgh was the top market for rent growth over the past five years. In June 2024, the median asking rent here was $1,484, which is $404 (37.4%) higher than it was in 2019.

“This trend is likely due to many people leaving expensive New York during the pandemic,” notes Jiayi Xu in her analysis. “In contrast, Pittsburgh’s relatively affordable rent prices provided stability and maintained relatively consistent rental demand.”

In the West, Sacramento, CA, experienced the fastest rent growth over the past five years (up 35.8%). That means renters here now pay an extra $529 a month.

Xu says Sacramento’s close proximity to pricey San Jose, CA, and San Francisco, combined with its more affordable rental prices, helped it maintain growth during this period.