Where Apartment Rents Are Falling in the US

By Jordan Rosenfeld Jun 30, 2021 Real Estate Investing 101

The pandemic threw a huge wrench into the U.S. economy. Many people could not afford their rent and many landlords had to live without rental income. As the vaccines have enabled life to open back up to a large degree, bringing greater stability to the economy, rents have risen in many places in an attempt to recoup some of the losses of the past year and a half. However, in some key cities apartment rents are actually falling.

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To determine the top cities where rent is falling, GOBankingRates looked at Zillow rent data through May 2021. GOBankingRates then isolated the seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) where there has been a decrease in one year-over-year rent from May 2020 to May 2021. All data was collected and is up to date as of June 16, 2021.

Last updated: June 30, 2021

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San Francisco

May 2020 average monthly rent: $3,083
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $2,918
May 2021 average monthly rent: $2,842
$ change in average monthly rent: -$241
% change in average monthly rent: -7.82%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$76
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -2.60%

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New York

May 2020 average monthly rent: $2,753
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $2,608
May 2021 average monthly rent: $2,546
$ change in average monthly rent: -$207
% change in average monthly rent: -7.52%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$62
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -2.38%

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San Jose, California

May 2020 average monthly rent: $3,090
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $2,950
May 2021 average monthly rent: $2,886
$ change in average monthly rent: -$204
% change in average monthly rent: -6.60%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$64
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -2.17%

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Boston

May 2020 average monthly rent: $2,418
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $2,341
May 2021 average monthly rent: $2,312
$ change in average monthly rent: -$106
% change in average monthly rent: -4.38%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$29
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -1.24%

Seattle

May 2020 average monthly rent: $1,921
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $1,877
May 2021 average monthly rent: $1,858
$ change in average monthly rent: -$63
% change in average monthly rent: -3.28%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$19
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -1.01%

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Washington

May 2020 average monthly rent: $2,075
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $2,036
May 2021 average monthly rent: $2,021
$ change in average monthly rent: -$54
% change in average monthly rent: -2.60%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$15
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -0.74%

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Chicago

May 2020 average monthly rent: $1,697
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $1,674
May 2021 average monthly rent: $1,666
$ change in average monthly rent: -$31
% change in average monthly rent: -1.83%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$8
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -0.48%

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U.S. Overall

May 2020 average monthly rent: $1,699
January, 2021 average monthly rent: $1,722
May 2021 average monthly rent: $1,740
$ change in average monthly rent: -$41
% change in average monthly rent: -2.41%
$ change in 2021 monthly rent: -$18
% change in 2021 monthly rent: -1.05%

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: In order to find where apartment rents are falling in the United States, GOBankingRates looked at Zillow rent data through May 2021. GOBankingRates then isolated the seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) where there has been a decrease in (1) year-over-year rent from May 2020 to May 2021. GOBankingRates also found (2) percent change in year-over-year of average rent; (3) change in rent from January 2021 to May 2021; and (4) percent change in average rent from January 2021 to May 2021. All data was collected and is up to date as of June 16, 2021.

About the Author

Jordan Rosenfeld

Jordan Rosenfeld is a freelance writer and author of nine books. She holds a B.A. from Sonoma State University and an MFA from Bennington College. Her articles and essays about finances and other topics has appeared in a wide range of publications and clients, including The Atlantic, The Billfold, Good Magazine, GoBanking Rates, Daily Worth, Quartz, Medical Economics, The New York Times, Ozy, Paypal, The Washington Post and for numerous business clients. As someone who had to learn many of her lessons about money the hard way, she enjoys writing about personal finance to empower and educate people on how to make the most of what they have and live a better quality of life.