Rent prices increased all over the country in 2022. The national median rent price increased 4.77 percent year-over-year, rising from $1,889 in December 2021 to $1,978 in December 2022.
But year-over-year prices in certain markets are moving in the opposite direction. Rent prices are stabilizing — and even falling — in some metro areas. That’s welcome news for cash-strapped renters, and a sign that 2022’s dramatic price increases may be evening out.
Metros with year-over-year rent decreases over 2 percent
Eight U.S. metros recorded year-over-year rent decreases between 2 and 8.5 percent in December 2022. These markets include metropolitan areas that logged double digit month-over-month price spikes and high levels of outbound migration interest in 2022.
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
The Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington metro saw the largest year-over-year rent decrease in this survey. The average rent price in the Twin Cities plummeted 8.5 percent, falling from $1,863 percent in December 2021 to $1,703.75 a year later.
Last year’s lowest average rental price of $1,586.50 offered renters substantial savings over 2021 prices. Even the 2022 high-water mark, (when the average price of rent hit $1,827.75), was lower than the average rent price in December 2021.
Local experts say there are signs that this Minnesota metro’s rental housing inventory crunch is easing slightly. The 2022 Minneapolis Rental Housing Brief reports that apartments made up the majority of vacant units (75 percent) in November 2022. It also notes that 4,547 construction permits for multifamily units were issued between Q4 2021 and Q3 2022. That’s up 92 percent year-over-year and the largest jump since the same period in 2018-2019.
Oklahoma City
The cost of rent in Oklahoma City fell 6.3 percent between December 2021 and December 2022. Renters here paid an average of $1,253 per month in the final month of 2021. A year later, that price had dropped to an average of $1,173.25.
That’s the most affordable city on this list and more than $800 cheaper than the national median average of $1,978. This affordable monthly rental price put Oklahoma City at the very top of the list of the most affordable metros in the country last fall.
This is welcome news for Oklahoma City renters, who have endured some of the largest monthly and annual rent increases in the country. For example, rent prices soared 19.7 percent between November and December 2021. The year-over-year rent increase hit 31.7 percent in October 2022, the highest of any metro in the nation.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
The average rent price in Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler was $2,003.25 at the end of last year. That’s down 5 percent from an average of $2,109.50 in December 2021 but still above the national median rent price. Rent prices peaked at an average of $2,274.50 and fell as low as $1,794.50.
The housing market in Arizona’s capital city and largest metropolitan area has cooled slightly. That makes it easier for people to buy and relieves some of the stress on the rental market in this popular region.
That’s a relief for renters, who have endured soaring rent prices. Rents shot up around 36 percent in May and June 2021, which gave 2022 prices plenty of room to fall.
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
Renters in the largest community in Texas are getting a price break on their rent, too. The average rental price in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metro area decreased 4.6 percent year-over-year in December.
Prices varied widely — between an average low of $1,569.50 and an average high of $1,964.50 per month — before settling at $1,744.50 in December 2022. That’s more than $230 below the national median. It’s also well below the metro’s own median rent price of $1,829.25 in December 2021.
Milwaukee-Waukesha
Residents of the Midwestern metro Milwaukee–Waukesha saved 4.0 percent on rent. The average rental price in December 2022 dropped to $1,656.75. That’s the third lowest price of any metro on this list.
This Wisconsin community has seen rent prices fluctuate from an average high of $1,778.50 to an average low of $1,543.25. This variability dates back to 2021. As an example, month-over-month rent prices fell 10.1 percent to hit $1,726.75 in December 2021.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
At $2,294.25, the average rent price in Chicago–Naperville–Elgin is still higher than the national median. But recent rent prices in the nation’s 15th most expensive metro have risen as high as $2,665.75. A 3.6 percent year-over-year price drop in December 2022 likely feels like a relief. (The median rent price a year earlier was $2,380.50.)
High rent prices likely spurred strong outbound migration throughout last year. More residents indicated they were interested in moving out of Chicago than any other community in the Q3 Rent. 2022 migration report.
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
Renters in the 25th most expensive metro, Baltimore–Columbia–Towson saved money on rent this year, too. The average rent price fell to $1,978.25 in December 2022.
That’s just 25 cents over the national average. It’s also down 2.1 percent from December 2021’s average price of $2,021.
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown
Rent prices fell 2 percent in Austin–Round Rock–Georgetown, Texas. This popular community was the 16th most expensive metro in the country, so residents appreciated the savings.
Prices in the Austin metro fell from $2,316.25 in December 2021 to $2,269.75. Rents hit an average of $2,661 at their highest point.
Metros with year-over-year rent decreases less than 2 percent
Six more communities recorded rent decreases between 0.4 and 1.7 percent during the same survey period. These include some of the most affordable and most expensive communities on this list.
Birmingham–Hoover, Alabama is the eighth most affordable metro in the county. Average rent here fell 1.7 percent year-over-year, from $1,573 in December 2021 to $1544.75 in December 2022. That’s the second most affordable price on this list.
It’s followed by Los-Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, the fifth most expensive metro in the nation. Median rents here were $3,377.50 a month, the most expensive of any community on this list. But L.A. residents saved 1.4 percent year-over-year, since prices dropped from $3,428.50 in December 2021.
Renters in three more coastal communities also saved money on rent year over year. They include Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News in Virginia and North Carolina, (-0.9 percent) Jacksonville, Florida (-0.8 percent) and New Orleans–Metairie (-0.4 percent) in Louisiana.
Rent in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News decreased from $1,678.75 in December 2021 to $1,663 a year later. Prices in Jacksonville fell from $1,608.25 to $1,595 during the same time period. Renters in New Orleans-Metairie paid $1,751.75 in December 2022, down from $1,759.50 a year earlier.
Las Vegas–Henderson–Paradise is the final metro to record a year-over-year rent decrease. Renters here paid an average of $1,805 per month in December 2022. That’s down 0.4 percent from $1,812.50 in December 2021.
The takeaway
Fourteen U.S. metropolitan areas recorded a rent decrease year-over-year. Renters in more than half of these communities saved between 2 and 8.5 percent.
Methodology
We analyzed rental property prices in December 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.
