Apartment List National Rent Report

Headline Market Update: August 2026

The national median rent increased by 0.1% in August, and now stands at $1,390. Rents are still down 0.8% compared to one year ago, but year-over-year rent growth has been inching up and the vacancy rate is inching down, signaling a modest tightening of rental market conditions.

Key Stats

• National Median Rent: $1,390 per month as of August 2026.
• Month-Over-Month Rent Growth: Rents increased 0.1% in August, the seventh consecutive monthly increase.
• Year-Over-Year Rent Growth: Rents are down 0.8% compared to August 2025, though this figure is bouncing back after bottoming out at -1.6% in April.
• Vacancy Rate: The national multifamily vacancy rate fell to 7.1% in August, near a recent peak, but declining for the first time since late 2021.
• Time on Market: Units are taking an average of 32 days to get leased after being listed.

August 2026 Rent Growth: Up 0.1% month-over-month, down 0.8% year-over-year

The national median rent ticked up by 0.1 percent in August, increasing for the seventh consecutive month. While modest, this month’s increase is notable because it’s the first time we’ve observed positive rent growth in August since 2022. In recent years, rents had dipped slightly in August, as the rental market’s off-season shifted earlier in the year amid soft conditions. By bucking that trend, this month’s data offer another sign that the rental market is turning the corner. At the same time, we are still at the tail end of the peak moving season, and as such, rent growth is currently decelerating. Prices will likely begin their off-season dip in the next month or two in line with typical seasonal patterns.

Compared to one year ago, the national median rent is still down 0.8%. In this full year view, the off-season pricing dip is still outweighing the busy season rent increases, despite some strengthening in rent growth in recent months. In other words, rents are still falling, but not as fast as they used to be. Year-over-year rent growth has now been trending up for four straight months, after bottoming out at -1.6 percent in April. 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 now appear to have hit an inflection point, signalling that the rental market may finally be stabilizing as construction slows and a recent influx of new units gets absorbed.

In dollar terms, the national median monthly rent now stands at $1,390, down $11 compared to August 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 3.6 percent, or $52 per month. But despite the prolonged pullback in prices, today’s rent levels remain 21 percent higher than they were at the start of 2021.

Multifamily vacancy rate ticks down to 7.1%, declining for first time since 2021

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 7.1 percent in August. This recent inflection marks the first time that we have seen a decline in our national vacancy index since late 2021. After bottoming out amid the pandemic era housing frenzy, the vacancy rate gradually loosened from record lows to record highs, but it appears to have finally hit its peak.

That said, the recent decline has been modest, and the vacancy rate remains elevated above its long-run average. And with mixed news on the labor market combined with stubborn inflation concerns, question marks around housing demand remain in play. The vacancy rate appears poised to continue tightening, but the change is likely to be gradual.

List-to-Lease time remains elevated at 32 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 that elapse between when a unit is first listed on our platform and when it is eventually leased. Units leased in August had been sitting on the market for an average of 32 days, up two days compared to last month and somewhat elevated for this time of year.

This month’s reading is the longest that we’ve seen in any August going back to 2019 when our tracking begins (January’s 41 days set the overall record). Units are taking three days longer to turn over than at this time last year, and two weeks longer than they were in August 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.

Rent declines are mostly concentrated in Sun Belt markets

There are 55 large metropolitan areas across the country that have a population over one million. In August, rents increased month-over-month in 36 of these markets, but rents remain down year-over-year in 28 of them. Rent trends vary significantly by region, with annual declines currently concentrated primarily in the South and Mountain West regions. Meanwhile, many markets in the Northeast, Midwest, and parts of the West Coast continue to see prices trend up.

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 5.1 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 fifth on the list, as rent declines there have moderated fairly rapidly over the course of this year. As of August, Austin rents are down 2.9 percent year-over-year, still a meaningful decline, but less than half of where it was one year ago (-6.8 percent in August 2025). The markets at the epicenter of the construction boom 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 they appear to have bottomed out, and the tide is now 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 +11 percent and +7.9 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 includes a number of midwest markets (e.g. Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis) that have been maintaining steady positive rent growth amid soft national conditions, with the region’s relative affordability propping up demand.

Conclusion

As the rental market nears the end of its busy summer leasing season, we are continuing to see signs that the tide is turning on the soft conditions that have defined the market for nearly four years. Since April, year-over-year rent growth has been ticking up and the vacancy rate has been ticking down, indicating that this is more than a single month blip in the trend. But despite the modest tightening of recent months, multifamily conditions remain notably cool overall, and an uncertain macroeconomic outlook presents risks to rental demand. The market is definitely turning the corner, but the shift is occurring gradually

August 2026 Rent Data for the 100 Largest U.S. Cities

Frequently Asked Questions

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

The overall national median rent across all bedroom sizes is currently $1,390 as of August 2026. The median rent for 1-bedroom apartments is $1,221 and for 2-bedrooms it is $1,376.

Are rents going up or down in 2026?

As of August 2026, rents are increasing month-over-month (+0.1%) but remain 0.8% lower than one year ago, indicating a market that is gradually stabilizing after nearly four years of softness.

What is the current apartment vacancy rate?

The national multifamily vacancy rate is 7.1% as of August 2026, which is down from a recent peak of 7.3% in February 2026 and represents the first decline since late 2021.

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

Nationally, it takes an average of 32 days for an apartment to get leased after it is initially listed for rent, as of August 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 $3,844. It is followed by San Jose, CA ($3,132); Irvine, CA ($3,092); Fremont, CA ($2,968); and Arlington, VA ($2,612).

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 Wichita, KS ($1,039); Cleveland, OH ($1,045); Tucson, AZ ($1,050); and Detroit, MI ($1,054).

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 (+15%); Boise, ID (+9.1%); Chesapeake, VA (+7.4%); and Virginia Beach, VA (+7.2%).

Are there any cities where rents are falling?

Among the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 52 have seen rents fall year-over-year. The biggest decline is currently occurring in Garland, TX, where rents are down 5.3 percent over the past twelve months. It is followed by San Antonio, TX (-4.9%); Aurora, CO (-4.6%); Las Vegas, NV (-4.2%); and Glendale, AZ (-4%).

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.