Denver's median rent is $1,613 as of September 2026, per Apartment List, down 3.1% from a year earlier. One-bedroom: $1,427. Two-bedroom: $1,778.
Updated October 2026. Rent figures reflect September 2026 estimates from Apartment List's October report.
Apartment List's October 2026 Rent Index estimates Denver's median monthly rent at $1,613, 3.1% lower than a year earlier, with one-bedrooms at $1,427 and two-bedrooms at $1,778. If you're searching for a one-bedroom, use the one-bedroom median rather than the median for all apartment sizes. These bedroom-specific medians give you a starting point for comparing apartments in the neighborhoods you're considering.
Denver rents have been below their year-earlier level for 30 consecutive months, according to Apartment List's estimates, and the September 2026 median was 12.1% below the city's July 2022 peak and 1.1% above its July 2019 pre-pandemic high. Below, see which way prices are moving, how availability has changed, whether the time of year matters, and where rent runs lower nearby.
Median Monthly Rent, Denver and U.S., September 2026
| Apartment size | Denver | U.S. | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All sizes | $1,613 | $1,388 | Denver $225 higher |
| One-bedroom | $1,427 | $1,220 | Denver $207 higher |
| Two-bedroom | $1,778 | $1,374 | Denver $404 higher |
Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.
Denver ranked 35th among the 100 largest U.S. cities for overall median rent in September 2026, according to Apartment List's estimates, at 16.2% above the national median and between Enterprise, Nevada ($1,616) and Chandler, Arizona ($1,581). It ranked 26th for one-bedroom and 24th for two-bedroom median rent.
A median calculated from apartments advertised on one listing site describes that site's available inventory, which can differ from Apartment List's estimate for new leases across the whole city. Compare the listings you're considering with the median for your bedroom count rather than expecting them to match it.
Down from a year ago, up since January. Denver's overall median rent was 3.1% lower in September 2026 than in September 2025 but 2.7% higher than in January 2026, according to Apartment List's estimates, and it fell 0.2% in September, the first monthly decline since January. For scale, Apartment List's national median fell 0.1% in September and was 0.4% lower than a year earlier, while Colorado's median was 2.1% lower than a year earlier.
Denver's one-year decline was the seventh-steepest among the 100 largest U.S. cities in Apartment List's September 2026 estimates; Aurora, in Denver's own metro area, was tied for fifth-steepest with Madison, Wisconsin, at 3.3%.
Each comparison ends in September 2026. January's median was lower and the previous September's was higher, which is how Denver rents can rise during the year while staying below their year-earlier level. Apartment List's estimates show the same pattern in 2025: rents rose 2.9% from January to June, then fell in each month from July through December, leaving September 1.0% above January.
Yes, and it has been for 30 months running. September 2026 was the 30th consecutive month in which Denver's overall median rent came in below the same month a year earlier, in Apartment List's estimates; the run began in April 2024. It was also the fourth September in a row to come in below the one before.
The 2026 months show the recovery from the winter low. According to Apartment List's estimates, Denver's overall median fell to $1,571 in January 2026, its lowest point since the July 2022 peak, then rose in each month through July, was little changed in August at $1,616, and slipped to $1,613 in September. The year-over-year decline was 4.7% in January, widened to 5.1% in June, and narrowed to 3.1% in September, the smallest since September 2024.
Denver Median Monthly Rent and Year-over-Year Change, January to September 2026
| Month | Denver median | Denver year over year | U.S. year over year |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | $1,613 | -3.1% | -0.4% |
| August 2026 | $1,616 | -4.0% | -0.8% |
| July 2026 | $1,615 | -4.4% | -1.0% |
| June 2026 | $1,610 | -5.1% | -1.2% |
| May 2026 | $1,605 | -5.0% | -1.4% |
| April 2026 | $1,599 | -4.7% | -1.6% |
| March 2026 | $1,589 | -4.4% | -1.6% |
| February 2026 | $1,575 | -4.4% | -1.4% |
| January 2026 | $1,571 | -4.7% | -1.3% |
Source: Apartment List rent estimates, overall median; October 2026 release, data through September 2026.
The three months before that were the end of the fall decline. Denver's overall median fell from $1,638 in October to $1,581 in December 2025, according to Apartment List's estimates, and ran 4.9% to 5.6% below year-earlier levels.
Denver Median Monthly Rent and Year-over-Year Change, October to December 2025
| Month | Denver median | Denver year over year | U.S. year over year |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | $1,581 | -4.9% | -1.2% |
| November 2025 | $1,604 | -5.6% | -1.1% |
| October 2025 | $1,638 | -5.6% | -0.9% |
Source: Apartment List rent estimates, overall median; October 2026 release, data through September 2026.
About $221 a month, or 12.1%. Denver's overall median rent peaked at $1,834 in July 2022, held that level in August, and stood at $1,613 in September 2026, according to Apartment List's monthly rent estimates. That is 1.1% above the pre-pandemic high of $1,595 in July 2019. The median fell 4.9% between February and December 2020, passed its 2019 level again in June 2021, reached the 2022 peak, and has stayed below it since.
Apartment List's national research counts Denver among the markets at the center of the recent apartment construction boom, where rent declines have been among the nation's largest. The rent, vacancy, and listing-time figures on this page describe Denver's market; they do not measure construction.
The available share is well above the national figure, and apartments that lease are taking longer than a year ago. In September 2026, 8.42% of units in the Denver apartment buildings covered by Apartment List's Vacancy Index were listed as available, down from 8.85% a year earlier but above the national 7.01%. Apartments that leased in September 2026 had been listed for a median of 39.0 days, according to Apartment List's time-on-market data, up from 33.3 days in September 2025 and the longest September in that series, which began in 2019.
Listing Time and Available Share, Denver and U.S., September 2025 and September 2026
| Measure | Denver, September 2025 | Denver, September 2026 | U.S., September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median days listed before leasing | 33.3 days | 39.0 days | 33.7 days |
| Share of apartments listed as available | 8.85% | 8.42% | 7.01% |
Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; Vacancy Index and time-on-market data through September 2026.
The available share peaked at 9.04% in December 2025, the highest reading in the index's Denver series, and has eased since. Listing times have run above their 2019 to 2025 averages in every month of 2026, and January's 46.7 days was the longest in the series. Ask about availability, current concessions, and the application timeline when you arrange a tour.
Fall and winter, if price matters most. Denver's overall median rent ended January below the previous September in all nine fall-to-winter periods from 2017-18 through 2025-26, according to Apartment List's analysis of its monthly estimates, by 0.8% to 6.5%. The two most recent declines were the steepest: 6.5% from September 2024 to January 2025 and 5.6%, or about $93, from September 2025 to January 2026. Apartment List's research on rental seasonality names Denver among the builder-friendly markets seeing steep winter price drops.
Summer. Apartment List's time-on-market data, averaged over 2019 to 2025, puts the median listing time for Denver apartments that leased in July at 25.0 days, against 35.6 days for apartments that leased in January. January's median exceeded July's in each of those seven years.
Denver Seasonal Listing Times, 2019 to 2025
| Apartments leased in | Average monthly median listing time |
|---|---|
| January | 35.6 days |
| July | 25.0 days |
Source: Apartment List analysis of its time-on-market data, Denver city, 2019 to 2025.
Those figures describe apartments that already leased, not how long a listing you are looking at will stay open.
Englewood. It had the lowest overall and one-bedroom medians of the 18 Denver metro area cities with published estimates in Apartment List's October 2026 release, at $1,416 and $1,146; Wheat Ridge had the lowest two-bedroom median, $1,480. Six cities had a lower one-bedroom median than Denver's $1,427, and five of them also had lower overall medians; Golden was the exception.
Metro Area Cities With a Lower One-Bedroom Median Than Denver, September 2026
| City | All sizes | One-bedroom | Two-bedroom | Change in overall median from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Englewood, CO | $1,416 | $1,146 | $1,627 | -3.9% |
| Wheat Ridge, CO | $1,467 | $1,187 | $1,480 | -0.3% |
| Aurora, CO | $1,526 | $1,245 | $1,575 | -3.3% |
| Northglenn, CO | $1,536 | $1,291 | $1,595 | -4.4% |
| Golden, CO | $1,692 | $1,353 | $1,714 | -5.9% |
| Littleton, CO | $1,575 | $1,390 | $1,707 | -1.6% |
Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Cities sorted by one-bedroom median; each row covers that city's own boundaries.
Denver and six more cities had one-bedroom medians between $1,427 and $1,546, according to Apartment List's October 2026 release, a range of $119.
Denver and Metro Area Cities With a One-Bedroom Median of $1,427 to $1,546, September 2026
| City | All sizes | One-bedroom | Two-bedroom | Change in overall median from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver, CO | $1,613 | $1,427 | $1,778 | -3.1% |
| Arvada, CO | $1,722 | $1,441 | $1,686 | -0.4% |
| Castle Rock, CO | $1,664 | $1,447 | $1,562 | -1.9% |
| Commerce City, CO | $2,435 | $1,448 | $2,248 | -1.4% |
| Lakewood, CO | $1,610 | $1,449 | $1,626 | -3.0% |
| Thornton, CO | $1,745 | $1,524 | $1,773 | -2.3% |
| Westminster, CO | $1,672 | $1,546 | $1,707 | -0.8% |
Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Cities sorted by one-bedroom median; each row covers that city's own boundaries.
The five remaining cities had one-bedroom medians at least $250 above Denver's, according to Apartment List's October 2026 release: Centennial ($1,690), Parker ($1,693), Lone Tree ($1,747), Highlands Ranch ($1,763), and Broomfield ($1,789). Rents fell over the year in all 18 cities; Wheat Ridge and Arvada had the smallest declines, 0.3% and 0.4%. For the newest monthly figures for Denver and the metro's cities, see Apartment List's Denver rent report, which updates each month.
A higher citywide median doesn't necessarily mean higher rent for the apartment size you need, because the overall median pools all apartment sizes while the bedroom medians describe separate groups. Golden shows the difference: its overall median of $1,692 was above Denver's $1,613, but its one-bedroom median was $74 lower and its two-bedroom median $64 lower. Commerce City had the metro's highest overall median, $2,435, with a one-bedroom median $21 above Denver's.
Englewood and Littleton are south of Denver, Aurora is east, Wheat Ridge and Golden are west, and Northglenn is north. Whether a lower rent works for you also depends on where you need to go regularly.
Use the $1,427 one-bedroom and $1,778 two-bedroom medians for Denver from Apartment List's October 2026 report to set a price reference, then compare what apartments in that range actually offer.
For example, a Denver one-bedroom listed at $1,600 would be $173 above the $1,427 one-bedroom median. Its condition, location, lease terms, required monthly charges, and included utilities can help you judge whether that difference is worthwhile.
If your moving date is flexible, include fall and winter listings in your search; if it is fixed, compare the apartments available when you need to move.
Build a shortlist of places that meet your needs and compare their total monthly costs side by side. That gives you a practical next step: deciding which apartments deserve a tour and what to ask before applying.
For help fitting rent into your broader budget, see our Denver cost of living guide.
Rent, vacancy, and listing-time figures on this page come from Apartment List's October 2026 release, with data as of September 2026. Earlier months are shown as revised in that release.
Data Sources and Calculation Methods Behind This Page
| Source or method | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Rent estimates | Median rent on new leases signed in the month. Percentage changes are Apartment List's published figures, calculated before medians are rounded to whole dollars, so they can differ slightly from a change worked out from two rounded medians. |
| Vacancy Index | Share of units listed as available in buildings of 10 or more units that list on Apartment List. |
| Listing time | Median days from first listing to lease, for apartments leased in the month. |
| Historical rent figures | Monthly medians are Apartment List's published rent estimates for each month, as revised in the October 2026 release. The series begins in 2017, and its highest months are July and August 2022. |
| Seasonal comparisons | September-to-January changes in that series, nine periods from 2017-18 through 2025-26. |
| Geographic scope | City figures cover Denver only. Metro figures cover Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, which includes the city. |
| Rankings | The 100 largest U.S. cities by population. |
| National Rent Report | Nationwide rent figures and the construction-boom context; October 2026 report, September 2026 data. |
| Peak-season research | How leasing activity and rents move through the year, nationwide. |
All three data series are published on Apartment List's data and rent estimates page.
Apartment List's October 2026 Rent Index puts Denver's median rent at $1,613 across all apartment sizes, and $1,427 for a one-bedroom. Apartment List reports the median, the midpoint of new-lease rents signed in the month, so a figure another source labels an average rent is not directly comparable.
Using 30% of gross household income as a starting point for rent alone, the $1,613 Denver median rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report works out to an income of about $64,500 a year. The $1,427 one-bedroom median works out to about $57,100 and the $1,778 two-bedroom median to about $71,100. Utilities and other housing costs need additional room in that budget. For the broader budget, see our Denver cost of living guide.
About $51 a month. Apartment List's estimates put Denver's overall median rent at $1,664 in September 2025 and $1,613 in September 2026, a decrease of 3.1%.
Compared with March 2020, Denver's median rent was 3.4% higher in September 2026, while the national median was 19.6% higher, according to Apartment List, in dollar terms without adjusting for inflation. Among the 100 largest U.S. cities, only Oakland, Portland, Austin, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Los Angeles had smaller changes over that period. Denver's net change includes the rise to its July 2022 peak of $1,834 and the 12.1% decline since.
The city figure covers the City and County of Denver; the metro figure covers the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro area, Denver included. In September 2026, according to Apartment List's estimates, Denver's overall median of $1,613 was 1.9% below the metro's $1,644, while its one-bedroom median was 0.2% above the metro's $1,424 and its two-bedroom median 4.3% above the metro's $1,704. Because the metro figure includes the city, it says nothing on its own about what any one surrounding city costs.
In unit laundry, Granite counters, Hardwood floors, Dishwasher, Pet friendly, 24hr maintenance + more
In unit laundry, Patio / balcony, Hardwood floors, Dishwasher, 24hr maintenance, Garage + more
