Life

These Are the 10 U.S. Cities Where Rental Prices Are Dropping the Most

New York City and Los Angeles didn't make the cut.

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Updated on July 10, 2023

The housing market has been pretty unwelcoming in recent years, and not only to those looking to buy. According to Realtor.com, rental prices increased by about 25 percent between early 2020 to mid-2022, but, luckily for renters, rates are starting to drop—in some places anyway. In May, monthly rents dipped 0.5 percent year over year to a median of $1,739 in the 50 largest metropolitan areas, Realtor.com reports. However, rental price declines aren't consistent everywhere, and these trends are largely regional and based on supply and demand.

As the Realtor.com rental report explains, rents in the West and in the South are starting to cool down, due in part to the steady labor market and the surge in newly constructed apartments, which has lessened the competition over units. Rental prices in the Midwest and Northeast, however, are still rising.

10-cities-rents-are-dropping-realsimple-GettyImages-522616268 — Joel Rogers/Getty Images

“With renters actively seeking more affordable places to live, it is expected that lower-rent markets, particularly those in the Midwest region, will experience relatively stronger rental demand, leading to accelerated growth in rents,” Jiayi Xu writes in the Realtor.com monthly rental report.

That said, there are still several metropolitan areas around the country where renters can find some relief in prices—even if it's marginal. To identify these places, Realtor.com looked at rental units listed across the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the country. While you won't find New York City or Los Angeles on this list, below are the top 10 U.S. cities where rental prices are currently dropping the most.