It’s no secret that the third quarter of 2021 and the third quarter of 2020 were very different times. For renters in most cities, the differences involved significant changes in rent prices. Nationally, rent price trends leaned heavily higher. And in fact, in some cities, rent prices were way up in 2021 after seeing record lows in 2020.
But that’s not the case in every city. Despite pandemic vacancies and post-pandemic demand, many places saw rent price drops just as steep.
Below is our analysis of rent price trends in Q3 2021 compared to the same time period last year at a national, state and city level.
Table of contents
- National average rent price trends
- State average rent price trends
- City average rent price trends
- Methodology
National average rent price trends
Across the nation, rent prices are unsurprisingly up from this time last year. A year ago mid-pandemic, some cities saw record low rents as demand plummeted. But as the nation recovers, rents are heading back up.
The rent for an average one-bedroom apartment nationwide is up over 10.5 percent year-to-year. For a two-bedroom, the increase was nearly 12 percent.
- 1-BR: $1,690 (+10.59%)
- 2-BR: $2,050 (+11.88%)
State average rent price trends
The pandemic-driven rent price drop of 2020 hit nearly every corner of the country. Now, apartment rent price trends during recovery are doing the same in reverse. Over three-quarters of states with qualifying inventory were up this year over last among both one- and two-bedroom units.
Ten states reported lower rents among one-bedrooms from last year and two-bedroom units had 10, as well. Five of those had rent decreases in both sizes. States who were down in singles primarily clustered along Appalachia. States down among duos were mostly along the Great Lakes.
One-bedroom rent price trends by state
Of those states with enough qualifying inventory, all but 10 increased in one-bedroom apartment rent from Q3 2020. Six of those were up over 20 percent. The states with the biggest increases were mostly in the Deep South and Mountain West. States where rent price trends decreased tended to bunch around the Great Lakes and along the Mississippi River.
10 states with the highest one-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Idaho: $1,614 (+56.96%)
- Louisiana: $1,054 (+22.93%)
- Oklahoma: $965 (+22.87%)
- Florida: $1,899 (+22.50%)
- Nevada: $1,814 (+22.00%)
- North Carolina: $1,378 (+21.85%)
- New York: $2,121 (+18.57%)
- Georgia: $1,398 (+18.31%)
- Alabama: $1,230 (+18.31%)
- Oregon: $1,554 (+13.38%)
10 states with the lowest one-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- South Dakota: $690 (-26.27%)
- New Mexico: $983 (-14.35%)
- Kentucky: $938 (-14.30%)
- Nebraska: $1,012 (-13.23%)
- Mississippi: $705 (-10.21%)
- Ohio: $1,127 (-7.88%)
- Michigan: $1,213 (-4.36%)
- Illinois: $1,413 (-2.87%)
- Tennessee: $1,155 (-1.85%)
- Missouri: $1,291 (-1.83%)
Two-bedroom rent price trends by state
Rent price trends among states for two-bedrooms were similar to those for singles. The states with the largest yearly drops in rent were primarily in the Upper Midwest Big 10 football country. Those that saw the biggest rise in rents were entirely in the extreme Northwest and Southeast.
Like with one-bedrooms, Idaho had the steepest rent increases by far. Rents shot up almost 50 percent over the last year. Six other states experienced a 20 percent or more climb. Overall, 21 states saw a double-digit post-pandemic increase in year-to-year rents.
Conversely, New Mexico saw the most precipitous drop. The Land of Enchantment experienced the only double-digit rent decrease from last year. This awarded the state the third-lowest two-bedroom rents in America, at $1,054 a month. Illinois also saw a sharp decline of nearly 10 percent.
10 states with the highest two-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Idaho: $1,701 (+49.55%)
- Nevada: $2,145 (+27.08%)
- Washington: $2,577 (+25.00%)
- Louisiana: $1,264 (+24.51%)
- Florida: $2,250 (+23.67%)
- North Carolina: $1,597 (+22.86%)
- Georgia: $1,687 (+22.24%)
- Oregon: $1,918 (+20.50%)
- Utah: $1,776 (+19.72%)
- South Carolina: $1,682 (+19.68%)
10 states with the lowest two-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- New Mexico: $1,054 (-16.25%)
- Illinois: $1,646 (-9.51%)
- Nebraska: $1,416 (-6.80%)
- Tennessee: $1,360 (-6.53%)
- North Dakota: $947 (-4.07%)
- Wisconsin: $1,429 (-3.78%)
- Iowa: $1,055 (-3.60%)
- Missouri: $1,493 (-2.66%)
- Indiana: $1,263 (-1.33%)
- Kentucky: $1,344 (+2.16%)
City average rent price trends
Rent price trend numbers nationally and state-by-state tell an interesting story. But that’s a broad, aerial view story. What we see on a city level charts more granular data. The analysis of yearly rent price trends for both one- and two-bedroom apartments shows a more detailed view.
In fact, to paint a clearer picture, we have divvied up every city with enough qualifying data into three sizes to more accurately delineate trends over an unusual year.
Rent price trends in large cities
With few exceptions, large cities (more than 250,000 people) carry large rents. And during the great rent drop of 2020, it was large cities with many multi-family buildings and complexes that were most affected. Places like New York and San Francisco experienced the lowest rents in decades.
Now, as the nation recovers, these same cities are seeing record high rent prices in some places. Not surprisingly, the West Coast — primarily California — had some of the steepest increases in the last year. Conversely, Texas was the big winner facing rent declines despite national trends.
Large city two-bedroom units tended to increase in rent price trends steeper than single bedrooms. But generally, the same geographic locations saw similar trends in both sizes.
One-bedroom rent price trends in large cities
Among one-bedroom rent price trends in large cities, those who saw rents increase the most in the last year were primarily on the West Coast. The big cities with the steepest declines tended to lie in the South Central states of Texas and Oklahoma. Except at the top.
The Southern California towns of San Diego, Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana and Long Beach are all among the top 20 big cities that experienced the highest year-to-year rent increases. But at the top of the list, by far, was Jacksonville, FL, despite being 3,000 miles from the West Coast.
One-bedroom rent prices in J-Ville increased a whopping 67 percent year to year. But despite that upsurge, the city still ranks as just the 24th priciest big city for rents. Boston, which increased over 10 percent, is the most expensive for Q3 2021 at $3,873 a month.
Overall, 24 cities with populations over a quarter million increased in rent price by double-digits since this time last year. That includes seven cities with a more than 30 percent rise and three over 40 percent. On the contrary, 23 large cities saw a decrease from 12 months ago. Six of those dropped more than 10 percent, led by Sacramento. The California capital noted a near 25 percent decrease in price, in opposition to the state’s coastal cities.
10 large cities with the highest one-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Jacksonville, FL: $2,124 (68.18%)
- Tucson, AZ: $1,395 (46.92%)
- San Diego, CA: $3,652 (42.95%)
- Aurora, CO: $1,992 (35.57%)
- Anaheim, CA: $3,286 (34.18%)
- Irvine, CA: $3,521 (33.64%)
- Reno, NV: $1,865 (31.44%)
- Gilbert, AZ: $1,877 (28.07%)
- Orlando, FL: $1,942 (24.53%)
- Henderson, NV: $1,790 (24.06%)
10 large cities with the highest one-bedroom rent price percentage drop
- Sacramento, CA: $2,124 (-23.35%)
- Phoenix, AZ: $1,260 (-19.66%)
- San Antonio, TX: $1,040 (-18.74%)
- Corpus Christi, TX: $785 (-18.66%)
- Tulsa, OK: $656 (-16.85%)
- Lincoln, NE: $1,056 (-11.49%)
- Oklahoma City, OK: $685 (-9.77%)
- Saint Paul, MN: $1,497 (-9.39%)
- Lexington, KY: $836 (-8.93%)
- Fort Worth, TX: $1,261 (-8.24%)
Two-bedroom rent price trends in large cities
Much like their one-bedroom counterparts, two-bedroom rents in large cities also adjusted based a lot on geography. Many of the cities with the sharpest increases were also out west, including two Nevada cities in the top five, three California and two Colorado cities, plus Arizona and a third Nevada city, among the 20 steepest.
However, the top of the list is Arlington, TX. Two-bedroom rent prices increased in the Metroplex city by a stunning 138 percent in a year. Jacksonville, No. 1 for single bedrooms, is No. 2 for doubles, making it the overall most increasingly expensive big city. Two Nevada cities not named Las Vegas saw the highest increases in the west. And a 33 percent increase in rents in Detroit indicates a healthy recovery for the struggling city.
The city with the sharpest decrease is an unexpected one. Phoenix, the fastest growing city in the U.S. and one of its most populous, had the largest yearly rent drop, over 33 percent. For a city with such increasing demand for rental housing, the drop is a helpful one and now, Phoenix carries the ninth-lowest rents among big cities.
Corpus Christi, TX, and Oklahoma City, OK, were the only other big cities to see an over-20 percent decrease from last year. With rents now at just $781 and $780 a month, respectively, the two Southern cities rank as the ninth and eighth cheapest rents in the U.S. overall for the third quarter. The lowest big city rent in total is Wichita, KS, at $632 monthly despite being up over 11 percent itself.
10 large cities with the highest two-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Arlington, TX: $2,396 (138.42%)
- Jacksonville, FL: $2,574 (69.39%)
- Reno, NV: $2,298 (54.57%)
- Henderson, NV: $2,188 (39.80%)
- Aurora, CO: $2,421 (34.37%)
- Detroit, MI: $2,387 (32.99%)
- Tucson, AZ: $1,661 (30.22%)
- Irvine, CA: $4,491 (30.09%)
- Denver, CO: $3,898 (29.73%)
- Santa Ana, CA: $3,689 (28.93%)
10 large cities with the highest two-bedroom rent price percentage drop
- Phoenix, AZ: $1,435 (-33.77%)
- Corpus Christi, TX: $781 (-28.98%)
- Oklahoma City, OK: $780 (-22.37%)
- Austin, TX: $1,343 (-19.67%)
- Saint Paul, MN: $1,809 (-19.49%)
- San Antonio, TX: $1,212 (-19.28%)
- Colorado Springs, CO: $1,599 (-15.85%)
- Tampa, FL: $1,912 (-12.64%)
- Seattle, WA: $3,583 (-12.26%)
- Baltimore, MD: $2,337 (-11.53%)
Rent price trends in medium cities
With fewer people flocking to them on an annual basis, medium-sized cities tend to see overall lower rent prices than their metropolitan colleagues. Medium-sized cities cover a number of state capitals, Midwest college basketball towns and major metro area secondary cities and even suburbs. These are cities with populations between 100,000 and 250,000.
Rent price increases were starker among one-bedroom units than two. Eight cities saw over 50 percent increases among two-bedroom apartments while just three had the same for singles. And once again, among both sizes, Florida led the way in price increase and Texas saw several large price decreases.
One-bedroom rent price trends in medium cities
While one-bedroom rent price trends are rising nearly entirely in the West for large cities, medium-sized cities are more spread out. The Pacific Northwest is certainly represented, with two cities in Washington, the two largest in Idaho and one each in Oregon and Utah among the top 20 highest rent increases. But the spot with the most yearly rent increase is assuredly Florida.
The Sunshine State places four cities among those with the 10 steepest climbs. The Miami suburbs of Hialeah and Pembroke Pines saw around 30 percent year-to-year rent increases, and Fort Lauderdale nearing 50 percent. But the big winner (or loser, depending on your view) is Tallahassee. The state capital was the only mid-sized city to experience a more than 100 percent increase in one-bedroom rent prices. Its 117 percent rise added nearly $1,000 to average one-bedroom monthly rents.
Among medium-sized cities, 20 enjoyed a decrease in rents from 2020. The sharpest drops came from all over, coast to coast. The Great Lakes, Midwest, Northeast, South and West Coast are all represented in a diverse top five.
Residents of Lansing, MI, saw the deepest decrease. Rents in the state capital fell nearly 33 percent from this time last year. Springfield, MO, at more than 27 percent, had the second-largest drop. That brought average one-bedroom rents in the nation’s largest Springfield to $613 a month. That’s the second-lowest in the nation behind only Montgomery, AL.
10 medium cities with the highest one-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Tallahassee, FL: $1,718 (116.96%)
- Meridian, ID: $2,254 (92.19%)
- Spokane, WA: $1,510 (57.72%)
- Fort Lauderdale, FL: $3,198 (49.17%)
- Boise, ID: $1,830 (47.98%)
- Columbia, SC: $1,129 (36.67%)
- Birmingham, AL: $1,780 (36.45%)
- Salt Lake City, UT: $1,778 (33.74%)
- Hialeah, FL: $2,059 (30.24%)
- Pembroke Pines, FL: $2,291 (29.48%)
10 medium cities with the highest one-bedroom rent price percentage drop
- Lansing, MI: $799 (-32.74%)
- Springfield, MO: $613 (-27.14%)
- Rochester, NY: $1,308 (-21.47%)
- Chattanooga, TN: $894 (-21.31%)
- Ventura, CA: $4,347 (-17.31%)
- South Bend, IN: $860 (-15.79%)
- Midland, TX: $1,009 (-14.20%)
- Knoxville, TN: $1,206 (-13.31%)
- Baton Rouge, LA: $941 (-11.41%)
- Odessa, TX: $980 (-10.14%)
Two-bedroom rent price trends in medium cities
Not a lot of differences appear in the rent price trends for medium-sized cities between one and two-bedroom availabilities. Seven of the cities with the largest increases appear in the top 10 of both unit types, as well as four of the 10 top decreases.
Two-bedrooms in Tallahassee top the list just as they did for one-bedrooms. But the numbers for doubles are even more arresting. Rent prices in the Panhandle city rose from $861 to $2,100, a staggering 144 percent hike. Two other cities Meridian, ID, and Boulder, CO, also rose more than 100 percent. Boulder’s Q3 2021 rent price of $3,302 monthly is the ninth-highest among all medium-sized cities. Ventura, CA, the highest at $4,449 a month, endured a 29 percent increase.
Springfield, MO, and Rochester, NY, were among the three cities with the deepest fall in rent prices for one-bedrooms. Those medium-sized cities also had the two biggest among two-bedrooms, as well. Along with Alexandria, VA, they were the only medium cities that fell more than 30 percent. Springfield’s decrease pushed it to the fifth-lowest two-bedroom rents overall nationwide at $713 a month.
10 medium cities with the highest two-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Tallahassee, FL: $2,100 (143.98%)
- Meridian, ID: $2,707 (109.58%)
- Boulder, CO: $3,302 (102.99%)
- Columbia, SC: $1,478 (75.16%)
- Little Rock, AR: $2,443 (74.39%)
- Spokane, WA: $1,781 (53.64%)
- Boise, ID: $1,982 (52.89%)
- Birmingham, AL: $2,202 (50.46%)
- Hialeah, FL: $2,813 (44.76%)
- Lewisville, TX: $2,436 (42.57%)
10 medium cities with the highest two-bedroom rent price percentage drop
- Springfield, MO: $713 (-37.47%)
- Rochester, NY: $1,344 (-31.23%)
- Alexandria, VA: $1,888 (-30.25%)
- Knoxville, TN: $1,006 (-24.02%)
- Denton, TX: $1,364 (-21.97%)
- Rochester, MN: $1,407 (-21.00%)
- Midland, TX: $1,242 (-20.63%)
- Santa Clara, CA: $4,204 (-20.60%)
- Shreveport, LA: $762 (-19.75%)
- College Station, TX: $1,040 (-18.63%)
Rent price trends in small cities
You would expect rents in small cities to be much lower than their larger counterparts and that’s for sure the case. But that doesn’t preclude them from being affected by pandemic-related demand and changing rent price trends.
But there’s one noticeable factor of rent increases and decreases over the last year. Medium and large cities were distinctly geographically delineated. But small cities across the country have seen both rises and declines regardless of region.
Small cities have also seen a number of extremes in both directions. These small cities are between 50,000 and 100,000 residents.
One-bedroom rent price trends in small cities
Welcome to Minnesota. The Land of a Thousand Lakes is home to both the small city that saw the biggest one-bedroom rent price increase and decrease since this time last year.
At the top extreme is Maple Grove, MN. The city of 73,000 is a Twin Cities suburb just northwest of Minneapolis. Over the last year, the city saw a monstrous near 200 percent increase in rent prices. A year ago, rents were an affordable $579. This quarter, that surged to $1,726 a month.
Port Arthur, TX, was the only other small city to see an increase of over 100 percent. West New York, NJ, ranks third, up nearly 61 percent to $2,961. That’s the fifth-highest small city rent in the nation.
The small city that saw the corresponding biggest decrease was also in Minnesota. Just 10 miles south of top increase Maple Grove, Minnetonka, MN, was the beneficiary of a 34 percent rent decrease. One-bedroom rents in the city were down almost $700 a month.
Santa Monica, CA, and Oak Park, IL, were the only other small cities to see a drop of over 30 percent from 12 months ago. Santa Monica, with rents over $2,700 a month, rose to the sixth-highest small city rents in all.
10 small cities with the highest one-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Maple Grove, MN: $1,726 (198.16%)
- Port Arthur, TX: $1,583 (107.16%)
- West New York, NJ: $2,961 (60.88%)
- White Plains, NY: $3,129 (38.96%)
- Doral, FL: $2,443 (38.07%)
- Mount Pleasant, SC: $2,196 (34.66%)
- Chapel Hill, NC: $1,786 (33.88%)
- Eagan, MN: $1,720 (33.02%)
- Rogers, AR: $1,015 (30.97%)
- Fort Myers, FL: $1,830 (29.97%)
10 small cities with the highest one-bedroom rent price percentage drop
- Minnetonka, MN: $1,132 (-34.16%)
- Santa Monica, CA: $2,701 (-32.91%)
- Oak Park, IL: $1,232 (-31.83%)
- Woodbury, MN: $1,575 (-18.09%)
- Youngstown, OH: $677 (-16.82%)
- Kokomo, IN: $817 (-12.50%)
- Flower Mound, TX: $1,873 (-10.70%)
- Redmond, WA: $2,069 (-4.98%)
- Bloomington, IN: $1,038 (-4.23%)
- Olympia, WA: $2,102 (-3.98%)
Two-bedroom rent price trends in small cities
Both the geographic mix and many of the top cities for small city two-bedroom apartments mirror single units.
Once again, the city with the largest increase is the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove. Two-bedroom rents didn’t climb quite as steep as singles. But the city’s 169 percent increase is still severely elevated. Smyrna, GA, and Port Arthur, TX, were the only other cities to experience an increase of over 100 percent.
But a small city doesn’t always mean small rent. On San Francisco Bay, in the shadow of the Bay Bridge, sits Alameda, CA. The city saw a yearly increase of 64 percent, the fifth-highest for small cities. But that jumped two-bedroom rent prices to an average of $5,401. That’s good for the highest two-bedroom rent price of any city in the nation.
Minnetonka, MN, the city with the biggest one-bedroom decrease has the second-largest for doubles. The Minnesota city was one of three small cities to fall over 35 percent. In fact, no other small city fell over 16 percent besides Minnetonka, Bloomington, IN, and Ames, IA.
Ames saw its two-bedroom rents plummet nearly 50 percent since last year. The current average rent price in the home to Iowa State University is an uber-affordable $461 a month. That makes Ames the cheapest two-bedroom city anywhere in the nation.
10 small cities with the highest two-bedroom rent price percentage growth
- Maple Grove, MN: $2,113 (168.78%)
- Smyrna, GA: $2,016 (120.15%)
- Port Arthur, TX: $1,920 (114.53%)
- West New York, NJ: $4,114 (79.25%)
- Alameda, CA: $5,401 (63.71%)
- Lynn, MA: $2,755 (54.57%)
- Bentonville, AR: $1,385 (49.01%)
- Rogers, AR: $1,353 (42.37%)
- Burlington, NC: $1,542 (38.53%)
- Chapel Hill, NC: $2,350 (37.00%)
10 small cities with the highest two-bedroom rent price percentage drop
- Ames, IA: $461 (-49.05%)
- Minnetonka, MN: $1,331 (-37.15%)
- Bloomington, IN: $1,010 (-35.01%)
- Kissimmee, FL: $1,400 (-15.67%)
- Bismarck, ND: $1,001 (-10.74%)
- Bloomington, IL: $849 (-8.56%)
- West Des Moines, IA: $1,180 (-7.30%)
- Norwalk, CT: $2,556 (-6.84%)
- Fort Smith, AR: $598 (-6.34%)
- Carson, CA: $3,320 (-4.91%)
Methodology
To determine average rent prices, we used Q3 2021 data from Rent.’s multifamily rental property inventory. From there, we evaluated changes seen since Q3 2020. Prices are based on the average price for that respective quarter as a whole.
We used a weighted average formula that more accurately represents price availability for each individual unit type and reduces the influence of seasonality on rent prices in specific markets. From there, we looked at historical standard deviations of our weighted rent prices to remove outlier markets and minimize potential volatility caused by lower inventory. Rent price increases and decreases per time period are based on the percentage change of apartment rental prices from Q3 2020.
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.
