Same Trend, Different Year: January Brings Further Rent Increases, Fueled by Demand

Key takeaways:

• The national average rent was $1,361 in January 2018, 2.8 percent higher than this time last year, and flat month over month, according to data from Yardi Matrix.
• 89 percent of the nation’s biggest cities have seen rents grow in January, in 9 percent of cities rents remained unchanged, while only 2 percent experienced rent drops compared to 2017. 
• America’s smaller cities are continuing to see the greatest increases, with Gilbert, AZ (8.5%), Roseville, CA (8.5%), and Fort Collins, CO (7.9%) breaking the top 10. 

The price of apartments has gone up in 89% of the nation’s 250 largest cities in January 2018, as demand for rentals remains elevated throughout the country, sustained by an improving economy and low unemployment. Renters continue to embrace apartment life, as rent prices are increasing at a strong and steady annual rate of 2.8%, nationwide, reaching $1,361/month in January 2018.

The price of two-bedroom units is increasing the fastest

One and two-bedroom apartments remain the most in-demand apartment sizes in the U.S. The price of two-bedroom rentals has climbed the most over the year, with a 3.5% increase in rates, exceeding $1,400/month on average, while the price for one-bedroom units has increased by 3.4%, renting for $1,225/month on average in January. The slowest growing apartment type in January were studio apartments, renting for 2.5% more than this time last year.

Bedroom Type	Average Rent	Change M-o-M	Change Y-o-Y
Studio	$1,259	0.2%	2.5%
1 Bed	$1,225	0.1%	3.4%
2 Beds	$1,408	0.1%	3.5%
3 Beds	$1,644	0.2%	3.2%

Rents in 6 cities, including Brooklyn, NY, continue to slide

In only six cities out of the 250 studied are rents cheaper than they were one year ago. With a large new inventory of apartments to fill, the rental market in Lubbock, TX has seen the biggest drop in prices year over year, -6.3%, with an average apartment now renting for less than $900/month. Norman, OK is also seeing a slight decrease in the average rent (-2.3%), as a result of thousands of new apartments hitting the market in just the past few years, with an average rent of $861/month as of January 2018.

Diminished demand for housing has affected prices in McAllen, TX, which have declined by -2.2% year-over-year. Rents in Kansas City, KS and Baton Rouge, LA are also sliding slightly this month, by less than 2%. The only large market to see a decrease in rents is Brooklyn, NY, which had wrapped up last year -1.7% below the previous year’s levels, maintaining the downward direction in January as well, with rents down by -1.1% year over year.

U.S. Cities Where Rents Decreased Y-o-Y in January 2018

#	City	State	Change Y-o-Y	Average Rent
1	Lubbock	TX	-6.3%	$897
2	Norman	OK	-2.3%	$861
3	McAllen	TX	-2.2%	$749
4	Kansas City	KS	-1.7%	$756
5	Baton Rouge	LA	-1.2%	$1,045
6	Brooklyn	NY	-1.1%	$2,692

Three new cities break the top 10 with greatest rent increases

At the beginning of the year, we have three new cities entering the top 10 for fastest growing rents in the U.S. Fueled by increasing demand, Gilbert, AZ (8.5%), Roseville, CA (8.5%) and Fort Collins, CO (7.9%) saw big rent bumps over the past year. Rental prices in Gilbert, AZ are rising fast, clocking in at $1,156/month in January, as its population has been growing at extremely high rates, demand for housing has skyrocketed, and a big portion of the Gilbert population is renting.

Sacramento Metropolitan Area’s City of Roseville is joining Sacramento — where apartment prices have been on a steep climb for a while now — as one of the top 10 cities in the country with the fastest rising rents. The price of apartments in Roseville, CA has jumped by as much as 8.5% year-over-year, with the average rent currently exceeding $1,600/month. Fort Collins, CO has also become one of the country’s fastest growing rental markets, with residents and Colorado State students competing for a limited number of rental apartments. Rates are up almost 8% from the same time last year, a Fort Collins rental apartment costing on average $1,436/month at the moment.

Oil centers Odessa and Midland, TX are still at the top of the list with the highest rent rebounds over the year, 35% and 31.4% respectively. Buffalo, NY (12.1%) and Lancaster, CA (10.2%) also struggling with double-digit price hikes year-over-year.

Other cities present in the top places with the fastest-growing rent are: Reno, NV; St. Petersburg, FL; Gilbert, AZ; Roseville and Sacramento, CA; and Fort Collins, CO.

U.S. Cities with the Fastest Growing Rents in January 2018

#	City	State	Change Y-o-Y	Average Rent
1	Odessa	TX	35.0%	$1,153
2	Midland	TX	31.4%	$1,303
3	Buffalo	NY	12.1%	$1,032
4	Lancaster	CA	10.2%	$1,175
5	Reno	NV	9.6%	$1,120
6	St. Petersburg	FL	9.3%	$1,265
7	Gilbert	AZ	8.5%	$1,156
8	Roseville	CA	8.5%	$1,603
9	Sacramento	CA	8.5%	$1,287
10	Fort Collins	CO	7.9%	$1,436

The most expensive California rents push the limits again in January

The priciest cities for renters remain big urban job centers on both coasts, with Manhattan, NY at the top of the list with an average apartment rent of $4,079, unchanged from the previous month and down slightly by -1% over the year.

If renters living in The Golden State where hoping for a respite from high rents in the new year, they’re not getting it yet. Prices went up again in January in all 5 California cities in the top 10 most expensive for renters, with the highest rates in the state being in San Francisco, $3,448/month. Jersey City apartments, the sixth most expensive in the U.S., also saw increased rates this month, reaching $2,855.

Wichita, KS, Tulsa, OK, and Toledo, OH remain the country’s top 3 most affordable cities for renters, alongside 7 other Midwestern and Texan towns where average rents do not exceed $730/month, a fraction of the prices in coastal cities. In fact, things have been quiet in these parts of the country, as rents remained flat or grew slower than the national average in 9 out of 10 cities. Fort Wayne, IN was the only one to see a significant jump in prices for the year, 4.5%. Other cities with affordable rent are: Brownsville, Killeen and Amarillo, TX; Independence, MO; Dayton, OH; and Oklahoma City, OK.

At the start of the new year, rents are expected to continue rising throughout the country slightly above inflation, as demand for apartments remains strong from all generations of renters. Doug Ressler, senior analyst at Yardi Matrix, offered his opinion as to what renters can expect as we begin a new year:

“Going forward, the major issues facing the U.S. housing market will concern population shifts and affordability. As affordability becomes a critical issue, renters can expect property managers to attract their interest via unique services or amenities. Property managers will actively target specific segments of renters through amenities and concessions based on the market and submarket demographics.”

Check out the average price of rent in your city by using this interactive table:

City	State	Average Rent	Change M-o-M	Change Y-o-Y
Manhattan (New York City)	NY	$4,079	0.0%	-1.0%
San Francisco	CA	$3,448	0.6%	2.4%
Boston	MA	$3,243	-0.2%	2.4%
San Mateo	CA	$3,064	0.5%	2.9%
Cambridge	MA	$3,023	-0.1%	2.3%
Jersey City	NJ	$2,855	0.8%	2.7%
Sunnyvale	CA	$2,764	0.9%	5.3%
Santa Clara	CA	$2,718	0.8%	3.2%
Brooklyn (New York City)	NY	$2,692	0.0%	-1.1%
San Jose	CA	$2,627	0.2%	3.3%
Oakland	CA	$2,517	-0.8%	2.7%
Daly City	CA	$2,498	0.4%	3.3%
Irvine	CA	$2,392	0.3%	4.0%
Stamford	CT	$2,391	0.4%	1.7%
Glendale	CA	$2,388	0.2%	2.6%
Pasadena	CA	$2,368	0.2%	2.4%
Fremont	CA	$2,328	-0.5%	1.7%
Los Angeles	CA	$2,293	0.2%	4.6%
Burbank	CA	$2,206	-0.2%	6.4%
Carlsbad	CA	$2,193	0.4%	6.4%
Washington	DC	$2,087	0.0%	2.4%
Arlington	VA	$2,076	-0.1%	0.1%
San Diego	CA	$2,071	0.0%	6.2%
Bellevue	WA	$2,064	0.2%	0.8%
Thousand Oaks	CA	$2,052	0.0%	4.9%
Hayward	CA	$2,032	-0.6%	3.4%
Huntington Beach	CA	$2,013	0.4%	4.2%
Costa Mesa	CA	$2,006	0.6%	3.6%
Seattle	WA	$1,972	0.0%	5.1%
Orange	CA	$1,961	0.3%	3.3%
Simi Valley	CA	$1,904	0.0%	4.6%
Yonkers	NY	$1,903	-0.1%	7.2%
Concord	CA	$1,881	-0.7%	2.5%
Ventura	CA	$1,869	0.0%	5.8%
Santa Rosa	CA	$1,861	0.5%	6.0%
Long Beach	CA	$1,860	0.0%	2.4%
Fort Lauderdale	FL	$1,847	0.5%	5.4%
Boulder	CO	$1,834	0.4%	6.1%
Oxnard	CA	$1,833	0.4%	3.8%
Santa Ana	CA	$1,830	0.1%	3.7%
Santa Clarita	CA	$1,821	0.0%	2.6%
Fullerton	CA	$1,809	-0.2%	3.1%
Miramar	FL	$1,805	-0.4%	4.3%
Chicago	IL	$1,798	0.8%	3.2%
Torrance	CA	$1,780	0.5%	5.0%
Rancho Cucamonga	CA	$1,741	-0.2%	3.0%
Anaheim	CA	$1,734	0.5%	4.8%
West Covina	CA	$1,703	-0.5%	5.6%
Vallejo	CA	$1,699	-0.2%	5.8%
Vista	CA	$1,699	0.8%	4.9%
Oceanside	CA	$1,693	-0.1%	4.8%
Fairfield	CA	$1,666	-0.5%	7.6%
Coral Springs	FL	$1,665	1.4%	2.2%
Davie	FL	$1,662	0.0%	0.1%
Alexandria	VA	$1,652	0.1%	-0.2%
Chula Vista	CA	$1,650	0.0%	5.4%
Garden Grove	CA	$1,643	0.0%	3.5%
New Haven	CT	$1,635	0.1%	5.5%
Pembroke Pines	FL	$1,628	0.1%	1.9%
Miami	FL	$1,608	-0.1%	2.4%
Roseville	CA	$1,603	0.4%	8.5%
Corona	CA	$1,601	-1.0%	4.2%
Murrieta	CA	$1,578	-0.6%	4.4%
Salinas	CA	$1,575	1.0%	7.9%
Ontario	CA	$1,573	-0.3%	1.7%
Renton	WA	$1,572	0.1%	5.2%
Temecula	CA	$1,565	-0.3%	4.0%
Edison	NJ	$1,559	-0.4%	3.5%
Denver	CO	$1,531	0.1%	5.7%
Santa Maria	CA	$1,516	-0.3%	5.7%
Escondido	CA	$1,511	0.3%	5.3%
Philadelphia	PA	$1,505	0.3%	2.7%
Minneapolis	MN	$1,485	0.3%	3.3%
Ann Arbor	MI	$1,472	0.3%	5.1%
Hillsboro	OR	$1,458	0.0%	0.3%
Fort Collins	CO	$1,436	0.1%	7.9%
Riverside	CA	$1,432	-0.6%	5.1%
Portland	OR	$1,432	0.4%	-0.1%
El Cajon	CA	$1,431	-0.2%	3.4%
Naperville	IL	$1,429	-0.2%	1.9%
Lakewood	CO	$1,423	0.1%	5.6%
Pomona	CA	$1,413	0.2%	0.9%
Kent	WA	$1,387	0.5%	6.0%
Sandy Springs	GA	$1,387	0.2%	3.3%
Moreno Valley	CA	$1,380	-0.2%	3.7%
Westminster	CO	$1,377	0.0%	5.0%
West Palm Beach	FL	$1,369	1.2%	6.2%
Pompano Beach	FL	$1,359	0.1%	5.4%
Thornton	CO	$1,353	0.1%	5.5%
Atlanta	GA	$1,345	0.1%	2.9%
Everett	WA	$1,344	0.0%	4.2%
Frisco	TX	$1,331	-0.2%	3.4%
Scottsdale	AZ	$1,330	0.8%	4.5%
Arvada	CO	$1,318	0.1%	7.2%
Richardson	TX	$1,318	-0.1%	2.3%
Hollywood	FL	$1,317	0.4%	1.2%
Orlando	FL	$1,313	0.1%	6.3%
Midland	TX	$1,303	0.4%	31.4%
Austin	TX	$1,299	-0.5%	0.9%
Sacramento	CA	$1,287	-0.5%	8.5%
Aurora	CO	$1,281	0.1%	5.6%
Pearland	TX	$1,281	0.4%	1.4%
Aurora	IL	$1,274	-0.2%	2.2%
Nashville	TN	$1,268	0.4%	1.8%
St. Petersburg	FL	$1,265	0.6%	9.3%
Hialeah	FL	$1,263	0.1%	3.2%
Eugene	OR	$1,255	-0.2%	4.8%
Plano	TX	$1,254	-0.1%	2.3%
Manchester	NH	$1,246	-0.2%	2.1%
Tempe	AZ	$1,245	0.4%	4.4%
Charleston	SC	$1,233	0.7%	-0.1%
Vancouver	WA	$1,231	0.3%	4.1%
Tampa	FL	$1,230	0.6%	5.3%
Baltimore	MD	$1,230	0.0%	3.4%
McKinney	TX	$1,217	-0.1%	2.7%
Fontana	CA	$1,210	-0.6%	4.8%
Gresham	OR	$1,208	0.2%	3.2%
College Station	TX	$1,205	0.1%	-0.9%
Elizabeth	NJ	$1,193	1.1%	6.7%
Hartford	CT	$1,191	0.0%	1.7%
Madison	WI	$1,188	-0.1%	0.8%
Rialto	CA	$1,186	-0.3%	4.1%
Tacoma	WA	$1,181	0.3%	5.9%
Lancaster	CA	$1,175	0.6%	10.2%
Chesapeake	VA	$1,170	0.6%	3.6%
Chandler	AZ	$1,168	0.4%	6.4%
Gainesville	FL	$1,166	0.4%	4.8%
Newark	NJ	$1,162	0.8%	2.7%
Virginia Beach	VA	$1,157	0.4%	3.0%
Gilbert	AZ	$1,156	0.4%	8.5%
Denton	TX	$1,154	-0.2%	2.9%
Odessa	TX	$1,153	1.6%	35.0%
Modesto	CA	$1,150	0.3%	7.2%
Henderson	NV	$1,149	-0.3%	6.1%
Dallas	TX	$1,146	-0.3%	4.2%
Tallahassee	FL	$1,146	-0.3%	2.0%
Charlotte	NC	$1,145	0.3%	4.0%
Cary	NC	$1,145	0.4%	3.7%
Pittsburgh	PA	$1,142	0.0%	1.2%
Brandon	FL	$1,140	0.9%	5.0%
Carrollton	TX	$1,132	-0.4%	1.4%
San Bernardino	CA	$1,123	-0.4%	5.1%
Reno	NV	$1,120	0.3%	9.6%
Salt Lake City	UT	$1,118	0.2%	5.2%
Raleigh	NC	$1,118	-0.1%	3.6%
Round Rock	TX	$1,117	-0.6%	2.1%
Milwaukee	WI	$1,111	0.5%	2.8%
Clearwater	FL	$1,109	0.6%	3.0%
Irving	TX	$1,104	-0.4%	4.2%
New Orleans	LA	$1,096	0.5%	0.3%
Lewisville	TX	$1,092	-0.4%	0.7%
Stockton	CA	$1,087	0.1%	7.5%
Durham	NC	$1,077	-0.4%	4.1%
Colorado Springs	CO	$1,074	0.1%	6.4%
Syracuse	NY	$1,074	-0.4%	3.3%
Houston	TX	$1,073	0.1%	3.4%
West Jordan	UT	$1,070	0.1%	4.0%
Murfreesboro	TN	$1,066	0.7%	3.2%
Greeley	CO	$1,065	-0.1%	7.5%
West Valley City	UT	$1,051	-0.3%	1.7%
Fort Worth	TX	$1,048	0.3%	5.2%
Baton Rouge	LA	$1,045	0.0%	-1.2%
Overland Park	KS	$1,042	0.2%	2.4%
Wilmington	NC	$1,040	-1.0%	2.1%
Grand Prairie	TX	$1,037	0.2%	6.7%
Peoria	AZ	$1,036	0.8%	6.1%
Boise	ID	$1,033	0.1%	7.6%
Norfolk	VA	$1,033	0.4%	2.8%
Buffalo	NY	$1,032	1.1%	12.1%
Victorville	CA	$1,031	-0.5%	6.6%
Clovis	CA	$1,025	0.0%	4.8%
Savannah	GA	$1,021	0.5%	3.9%
Detroit	MI	$1,020	1.6%	7.6%
Richmond	VA	$1,016	0.3%	4.5%
Cleveland	OH	$1,011	-0.1%	3.9%
Columbia	SC	$1,001	0.1%	4.2%
Hampton	VA	$995	0.3%	2.7%
Jacksonville	FL	$994	0.0%	5.0%
Lakeland	FL	$987	0.8%	5.1%
Fresno	CA	$982	-0.2%	5.4%
San Antonio	TX	$980	0.1%	2.0%
Rochester	NY	$979	-0.2%	2.3%
Garland	TX	$978	-0.2%	6.3%
North Charleston	SC	$972	0.4%	3.0%
Salem	OR	$970	-0.3%	6.2%
Arlington	TX	$969	0.3%	6.3%
Corpus Christi	TX	$965	-0.6%	2.3%
North Las Vegas	NV	$964	-0.1%	7.2%
Las Vegas	NV	$963	0.0%	6.6%
Knoxville	TN	$963	0.4%	3.4%
Grand Rapids	MI	$962	0.0%	4.7%
Waco	TX	$958	-0.2%	0.4%
Kansas City	MO	$944	0.1%	3.2%
Phoenix	AZ	$941	0.6%	5.1%
Cincinnati	OH	$941	0.4%	3.2%
Bakersfield	CA	$932	0.0%	1.6%
Birmingham	AL	$930	0.2%	3.8%
Mesquite	TX	$924	-0.5%	3.0%
Lincoln	NE	$915	0.2%	1.9%
Chattanooga	TN	$914	0.8%	3.3%
Waterbury	CT	$914	-0.2%	2.1%
Spokane	WA	$904	0.4%	7.1%
Newport News	VA	$902	0.4%	0.9%
Metairie	LA	$900	0.4%	2.7%
Lubbock	TX	$897	-0.3%	-6.3%
Mesa	AZ	$896	0.4%	4.4%
Sterling Heights	MI	$890	0.5%	6.0%
Louisville	KY	$890	0.2%	2.4%
Olathe	KS	$887	0.0%	1.0%
South Bend	IN	$884	-0.2%	2.4%
Columbus	OH	$881	0.3%	5.3%
Lexington	KY	$878	0.6%	2.7%
St. Louis	MO	$876	-0.3%	2.1%
Omaha	NE	$874	0.0%	2.8%
Des Moines	IA	$871	0.6%	6.2%
Glendale	AZ	$867	0.5%	5.3%
Norman	OK	$861	-0.3%	-2.3%
Pasadena	TX	$852	0.5%	4.5%
Greensboro	NC	$844	0.6%	4.3%
Albuquerque	NM	$841	-0.4%	3.2%
Columbus	GA	$832	0.6%	0.7%
Paradise	NV	$824	0.1%	4.6%
Akron	OH	$816	-0.2%	1.1%
Indianapolis	IN	$814	-0.2%	2.5%
Broken Arrow	OK	$798	-0.7%	0.3%
Tucson	AZ	$796	-0.4%	3.8%
Winston-Salem	NC	$795	0.4%	5.6%
Las Cruces	NM	$791	0.6%	1.4%
Macon	GA	$784	0.4%	4.4%
Mobile	AL	$778	-0.1%	0.9%
Warren	MI	$777	0.8%	3.6%
Lansing	MI	$776	-0.1%	2.4%
Little Rock	AR	$768	0.5%	1.1%
Augusta	GA	$763	-0.1%	2.1%
High Point	NC	$761	1.7%	3.3%
Jackson	MS	$757	-0.3%	3.6%
Kansas City	KS	$756	0.4%	-1.7%
McAllen	TX	$749	-1.4%	-2.2%
El Paso	TX	$744	-0.3%	1.2%
Memphis	TN	$742	0.1%	2.5%
Fort Wayne	IN	$727	0.1%	4.5%
Oklahoma City	OK	$727	-0.1%	0.8%
Amarillo	TX	$726	0.1%	-0.5%
Independence	MO	$720	0.1%	2.4%
Dayton	OH	$720	-0.1%	2.0%
Killeen	TX	$701	0.1%	2.0%
Brownsville	TX	$691	0.1%	1.8%
Toledo	OH	$674	-0.1%	1.8%
Tulsa	OK	$672	-0.4%	1.4%
Wichita	KS	$632	-0.2%	2.1%

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About RentCafe and How We Compiled the Data

RentCafe is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the United States.

To compile this report, RentCafe’s research team analyzed rent data across the 250 cities in the US. The report is exclusively based on apartment data related to buildings containing 50 or more units. Our report includes cities with populations over 100,000 and a rental stock of at least 2,900 apartments in 50+ unit buildings.

Rent data was provided by Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors. Rental rate coverage is for Market Rate properties only. Fully Affordable properties are not included in the Yardi Matrix rental surveys and are not reported in rental rate averages.

Starting with the January 2017 rent survey, Yardi Matrix is using a methodology that incorporates more properties into the sample which caused slight changes in overall rents and year-over-year changes compared to the previous reports. We expect this methodology adjustment to produce more accurate averages at the national and metro levels.

*National averages include 124 markets across the US, as reported by Yardi Matrix.