ApartmentAdvisor National Rent Report

This month’s report focuses on three key findings:

1. Cities where rent has decreased outnumber cities where it has increased, both MoM and YoY.
2. With rental season cooling down, it’s a good time to be a new grad looking for an apartment in a new city.
3. Three key cities are helping drive up costs in the Midwest, one of the hottest regions of the last few years.

More Cities Saw Rent Decreases Than Increases, MoM and YoY

As the peak summer renting season comes to a close, rent prices are cooling down along with the weather. While not all rent drops are created equal, more cities saw decreases this month than not. The national median rent for a one-bedroom apartment decreased as well, by 0.6% since July.

The biggest month-over-month price drop in August was in Augusta, GA — where rent decreased by 5.5%. Year-over-year, rent in August is down over 8%. This is yet another example of a Southeastern city leading the country in rent drops, a trend that we’ve seen evolving throughout 2024. Of the cities with the top 10 highest rent drops this month, half are in the Southeast.

The other four were located in the Midwest — Cleveland, OH (-4.7%); Cincinnati, OH (-4.5%); Sioux Falls, SD (-4%); and Wichita, KS (-3.5%). This is a welcome change for the region, which has been subjected to constant rent hikes over the last year as demand for housing increases and supply has fallen short.

Revisiting Best Cities for College Grads ’24: Nearly All Cities Saw Decreases This Month

Earlier this year, we published our annual Best Cities for College Grads report, an in-depth data study where we analyze over a dozen economic and desirability factors to figure out where new grads may have the best luck starting their adult lives while renting. As the first post-grad summer winds down for 2024 graduates, we took another look at these cities again to see how rents are shaking out. Luckily, prices are down in almost all of the cities that came out on top for grads on our list — so if you were considering a move, now may be a good time.

Tampa, FL — our No. 6 Best City for Grads — saw the biggest MoM rent decrease (-3.3%), followed by San Francisco, CA (-1.7%), Washington, DC (-1.2%), Charleston, SC (-0.9%), Madison, WI (-0.7%), Seattle, WA (-0.6%) and Atlanta, GA (-0.1%). Rent was flat in Miami, FL and Portland, ME, and up 1.7% in Salt Lake City, UT. Even better: In all cities but Salt Lake, rent is down year over year.

Cities to Watch: Ann Arbor, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, and Fargo, ND are Hot Rental Markets

Though some Midwestern cities finally saw some rent relief, three others are still driving up costs in the region: Ann Arbor, MI (+8.4%), Cedar Rapids, IA (+8.3%), and Fargo, ND (+4.9%).

In a large swing this month, Ann Arbor has taken the place of the No. 10 most expensive city to rent a one-bedroom apartment — knocking Charleston, SC off of the list. It’s big news when a Midwestern city is on par pricewise with the coastal cities that make up the rest of the list, especially as median incomes in the region tend to be lower than on either coast. According to the most recent U.S. Census data, an individual earning the median income in Ann Arbor would be spending around 34% of their income on a one-bedroom apartment rented at the median price ($2,002 a month).

Though rent is more affordable for residents of Cedar Rapids and Fargo — with our estimates placing the approximate income-to-rent ratio at below 23% for both cities — they are still reckoning with some pretty steep price hikes.