Renting a one-bedroom apartment now costs $2,000 in 14 of the 100 largest US cities

Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment now costs $2,000 or more on average in 14 of the nation’s 100 largest cities. 

The average rent for a one-bedroom unit nationwide reached $1,492 in February, compared to $1,393 a year earlier, according to Zumper, a rental platform.  

Rental prices are rising partly because of inflation and partly because of higher mortgage rates, which make homes less affordable for purchase. Unable to buy, renters remain renters, which increases demand for rentals. 

“With interest rates expected to rise further in 2023, we anticipate continued deceleration in rent rises,” said Anthemos Georgiades, CEO of Zumper.  

That a one-bedroom New York apartment now costs $3,550 a month on average may surprise no one. Several other cities in the report’s top 10 are infamous for lofty rents, including San Francisco ($3,000 for a one-bedroom), Boston ($2,990), Los Angeles ($2,370) and Washington, D.C. ($2,300). 

Potential renters may be disheartened, however, to learn that a one-bedroom in Miami now costs an average of $2,600. In neighboring Fort Lauderdale, nominally cheaper, rent has reached $2,000. 

Monthly rents are soaring elsewhere too: in Oakland ($2,250) and San Jose ($2,490), lower-cost alternatives to San Francisco; in Arlington ($2,280), the D.C. suburb; in Santa Ana ($2,070), across the Orange Curtain from L.A.; and in Jersey City ($2,980), across the river from New York. 

Rents are rising for two-bedroom apartments, as well. Average monthly rent for a two-bedroom in the 100 largest cities rose from $1,708 in February 2022 to $1,824 in February 2023. The average two-bedroom unit now costs $4,000 a month in New York and San Francisco. 

The good news? Rents may be stabilizing. They have remained relatively flat since October, and year-to-year increases are lower now than a year ago. Zumper analysts say the rental market may have reached an “inflection point” of roughly equal supply and demand. 

Rents were rising at a double-digit annual pace through much of the pandemic. The rate of increase slowed last fall. 

Some large cities remain relatively affordable. One-bedroom apartments average $1,800 a month in Chicago, while two-bedrooms fetch $2,100. A one-bedroom now costs roughly $1,770 in Atlanta and Denver, $1,500 in Portland, Ore., and Dallas, $1,400 in Philadelphia and Phoenix, $1,300 in Las Vegas, $1,100 in Cleveland, and $1,000 in Cincinnati and Milwaukee.  

The cheapest rents among the 100 largest cities? Wichita, Kan., where an average one-bedroom will set you back $690 a month.