Apartment List National Rent Report

Headline Market Update: October 2026

The national median rent decreased by 0.1% in September, and now stands at $1,388. Rents are still down 0.4% compared to one year ago, but year-over-year rent growth has been steadily inching up and the vacancy rate is moving down, signaling a gradual tightening of rental market conditions.

Key Stats

• National Median Rent: $1,388 per month as of September 2026.
• Month-Over-Month Rent Growth: Rents decreased 0.1% in September as the rental market enters its off-season; this marks the first monthly decline since January.
• Year-Over-Year Rent Growth: Rents are down 0.4% compared to September 2025, though this figure is bouncing back after bottoming out at -1.6% in April.
• Vacancy Rate: The national multifamily vacancy rate fell to 7% in September, remaining elevated compared to long-run norms, but continuing to decline after peaking earlier this year.
• Time on Market: Units are taking an average of 34 days to get leased after being listed, a bit longer than is typical for this time of year.

September 2026 Rent Growth: Down 0.1% month-over-month, down 0.4% year-over-year

The national median rent ticked down by 0.1 percent in September, marking the first monthly decline since January. The transition from increasing to decreasing rent prices is expected at this time of year. This is consistent with the market’s usual seasonality; fewer renters tend to move in the fall in winter months, and so property owners offer modest discounts to attract demand and fill vacant units at this time of year.

In recent years, the shift into the off-season has happened earlier than normal amid soft market conditions, beginning in August in each of the past three years. 2026 bucked that trend and is the first year that since 2022 that we saw positive rent growth in August. And even though rents have now dipped in September, that decline was notably more subdued than what we have seen not just in recent years, but also than what we saw in the pre-pandemic years when the market was well-balanced. From 2022 to 2025, the average rent decline in September was -0.5 percent; from 2017 to 2019 it was -0.3 percent; this year it was just -0.1 percent. This is the first month in years that rent growth has outpaced the pre-pandemic average, offering the clearest signal yet of the rental market’s rebound.

As monthly rent growth has consistently come in stronger than the 2025 pace, year-over-year rent growth has been gradually drifting up. Compared to one year ago, the national median rent is still down 0.4%, but year-over-year rent growth has now been trending up for five straight months, after bottoming out at -1.6 percent in April. In other words, rents are still falling on an annual basis, but not as fast as they were a few months ago. That April figure matched a record low in our estimates, going back to 2017, as demand stagnated amid a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty. But we have now clearly hit an inflection point, signalling that the rental market is finally stabilizing as construction slows and the recent influx of new units gets absorbed.

In dollar terms, the national median monthly rent now stands at $1,388, down just $6 compared to September 2025. Prices peaked in mid-2022 after a year and a half of skyrocketing growth. Since then, the nationwide median rent has been gradually drifting down and has fallen from that peak by a total of 3.7 percent, or $54 per month. The national median rent also recently hit a notable milestone – years of modest declines have now offset the rapid price growth that preceded it such that prices are converging back to their long run trend. After oscillating between alternating hot and cool spells throughout the 2020s, the national median rent today is roughly where it would have been if rents had continued to simply grow at a slow and steady pace of +2.5 percent annual growth, the average rent growth from 2017 to 2019.

Multifamily vacancy rate ticks down to 7%, continuing its decline

A historic surge in multifamily construction has been driving soft market conditions for nearly four years. The construction boom peaked in 2024, when we saw over 600 thousand new multifamily units hit the market, the most new supply in a single year since 1986. Deliveries of new apartments have slowed considerably since then, albeit while remaining fairly robust by historic standards. Despite being at the tail end of the construction boom, the market had still been struggling to absorb the swell of new inventory. That is now finally changing, as we see multifamily occupancy also hitting an inflection point in tandem with rent growth.

Our national vacancy index – which measures the average vacancy rate of stabilized properties in our marketplace (i.e. those that have completed their initial lease-up phase) – hit a peak of 7.3 percent in February, marking the highest level since we started tracking occupancy in 2017. Since then however, the vacancy rate has been slowly creeping down, and fell to 7 percent in September. This recent inflection comes after four-plus years during which the vacancy rate gradually loosened from record lows to record highs.

The vacancy rate remains elevated above its long-run average, but it has now moved past its peak and is slowly returning to levels more in line with balanced market conditions. That said, if the current pace of tightening continues, it will still be over a year before the vacancy rate falls back to the 2017 to 2019 average of 6.4 percent.

List-to-Lease time remains elevated at 34 days

As more vacant units have come onto the market, those units have also been sitting vacant for longer. Our time on market index – also referred to as “list-to-lease” time – tells us the typical number of days between when a unit is first listed on our platform and when it is eventually leased. Units leased in September had been sitting on the market for an average of 34 days, up two days compared to last month and somewhat elevated for this time of year. Time on market is a highly seasonal metric, and has now begun to trend up as units sit vacant for longer stretches during the slow moving season.

This month’s reading is the longest that we’ve seen in any September going back to 2019 when our tracking begins (January’s 41 days set the overall record). Units are taking two days longer to turn over than at this time last year, and more than two weeks longer than they were in September 2021 when the market was at its hottest. This lengthened list-to-lease time is a reminder that despite the recent inflection points in pricing and occupancy, rental market conditions remain fairly cool overall.

Sun Belt rent declines are moderating

There are 55 large metropolitan areas across the country that have a population over one million. In September, rents decreased month-over-month in 39 of these markets, but 33 of these markets (a slight majority) are now seeing rents increase year-over-year. Rent trends vary significantly by region. The decline in our national index in recent years has largely been driven by markets throughout the Sun Belt and Mountain West regions, but we are now beginning to see these regions rebound. Meanwhile, many markets in the Northeast, Midwest, and parts of the West Coast continue to see prices trend up.

[San Antonio] (https://www.apartmentlist.com/rent-report/tx/san-antonio) is currently logging the nation’s sharpest year-over-year rent decline among large metros, with the metro-wide median rent there down 4.5 percent in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, nearby Austin, which had consistently been seeing the biggest rent declines as it added new apartments at the fastest pace of any major housing market in the county, has now fallen to seventh on the list, as rent declines there have moderated rapidly over the course of this year. As of September, Austin rents are down 2.1 percent year-over-year, still a meaningful decline, but a notable rebound from the 6.2 percent decline the metro experienced in 2025.

Austin represents a telling case study with implications for many other Sun Belt markets. After adding by far the most new units to its rental stock of any major market on a per-capita basis, pricing and occupancy in Austin are now bouncing back as construction slows and units get absorbed. A less pronounced version of this same dynamic is now playing out across the markets that were at the epicenter of the national multifamily construction boom of recent years. These markets are still seeing the nation’s biggest price declines (in addition to San Antonio and Austin, see e.g. Denver, Phoenix, Tampa, and Charlotte), but those declines are smaller than they were at the start of the year, and the tide is turning.

At the other end of the spectrum, the two Bay Area metros – San Francisco and San Jose are currently logging the nation’s fastest year-over-year rent growth at +12 percent and +9 percent, respectively, as the AI boom has created a wave of high-paying tech jobs and spurred a housing frenzy there. In the city of San Francisco itself, rents are up even more starkly, at +26 percent year-over-year. Rent growth in the Bay Area is truly staggering right now, far outpacing all other markets in the country. The remainder of the top ten is largely comprised of Midwest markets (e.g. Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Cleveland) that have been maintaining steady positive rent growth amid soft national conditions, with the region’s relative affordability propping up demand.

Conclusion

Even as the rental market enters its slow season, we are continuing to see the tide turn on the soft conditions that have defined the market for the past four years. Rents dipped in September, but that seasonal price decline was modest compared not just to recent soft years, but also compared to the 2017 to 2019 average (the most recent years when the market nationally was well-balanced).

Multifamily conditions remain cool overall, but they are thawing rapidly. As we look ahead, weak consumer sentiment and stubborn inflation concerns could present downside risks to household formation. At the same time, the labor market has been fairly resilient, if a bit shaky. And with mortgage rates increasing again, some would-be first-time homebuyers may continue to rent longer, adding tightness to the rental market.

All-in-all, it appears that the rental market is poised for continued strengthening in pricing and occupancy. If the year closes out on a similar trajectory to the one it’s been on, 2026 will be the first year since 2022 with positive full-year rent growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are typical rent prices in the U.S.?

The overall national median rent across all bedroom sizes is currently $1,388 as of September 2026. The median rent for 1-bedroom apartments is $1,220 and for 2-bedrooms it is $1,374.

Are rents going up or down in 2026?

As of September 2026, rents are declining month-over-month (-0.1%) and are 0.4% lower than one year ago; prices are still falling, but the market is gradually stabilizing after nearly four years of softness.

What is the current apartment vacancy rate?

The national multifamily vacancy rate is 7.0% as of September 2026, which is down from a recent peak of 7.3% in February 2026; the vacancy rate is currently declining after over four years of gradual loosening.

How long does it take for an apartment to get rented?

Nationally, it takes an average of 34 days for an apartment to get leased after it is initially listed for rent, as of September 2026.

Which cities have the most expensive rents?

Among the 100 largest cities in the U.S., the most expensive is currently San Francisco, CA, with an overall median rent of $3,878. It is followed by San Jose, CA ($3,154); Irvine, CA ($3,132); Fremont, CA ($2,983); and Arlington, VA ($2,610).

Which cities have the most affordable rents?

Among the 100 largest cities in the U.S., the most affordable is currently Toledo, OH, with an overall median rent of $916. It is followed by Cleveland, OH ($1,025); Wichita, KS ($1,029); Tucson, AZ ($1,047); and Detroit, MI ($1,057).

Where are rents growing fastest?

Among the 100 largest cities in the U.S., the fastest year-over-year rent growth is currently occurring in San Francisco, CA, where rents are up 26% over the past twelve months. It is followed by Oakland, CA (+16%); Boise, ID (+11%); Virginia Beach, VA (+8.6%); and Norfolk, VA (+7.8%).

Are there any cities where rents are falling?

Among the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 46 have seen rents fall year-over-year. The biggest decline is currently occurring in Garland, TX, where rents are down 4.4 percent over the past twelve months. It is followed by San Antonio, TX (-4.3%); Arlington, TX (-4.0%); Las Vegas, NV (-3.6%); and Aurora, CO (-3.3%).

Complete Data and Methodology

The data in this report – median rents, rent growth, vacancies, and time on market – are proprietary rental market indicators built by the Apartment List Economics Team using a combination of public data and the millions of listings active on our marketplace. Complete methodologies and data download options are available on our research blog.

Median rent represents the estimated lease price across all rental properties within a market. Rents are calculated using a same-unit, repeat-transaction model that controls for composition bias and reflects transacted prices for rented units, not list prices for vacant units. Month-over-month rent growth compares estimated rent in the current month to the previous month, while year-over-year rent growth compares the current month to the same month last year. See methodology for more. See our Rent Estimate Methodology for more.

Vacancy rates are calculated as the share of units that are available for rent across all stabilized Apartment List properties in a market. A stabilized property is defined as one that has been active on our platform for at least six months and has reached 85% occupancy at least once. See our Vacancy Index Methodology for more.

Time on market or list-to-lease time is calculated as the median number of days between a unit’s listing data and its lease date. See our Time on Market Methodology for more.

Metropolitan Areas in this report are consistent with definitions from the United States Census Bureau.

Apartment List has long been committed to making our data products as accurate and transparent as possible. If you have any questions or custom data requests, you can reach us at research@apartmentlist.com.