10 Cheapest US Cities to Rent an Apartment

Cities in the center of the U.S. had the lowest rents in April, according to a report released Friday by RENTCafé, a nationwide apartment search website. Those with the highest rents were concentrated on the East and West coasts.

RENTCafé’s research showed that the national average monthly rent in April reached $1,377, 3.2% higher than in April 2017 and the biggest year-over-year increase since the end of 2016.

Month over month, national rents grew by 0.3%, or $4, in April.

RENTCafé analyzed rent data across the 250 U.S. cities, focusing exclusively on apartment data related to buildings containing 50 or more units. The report comprises cities with populations of more than 100,000 and a rental stock of at least 2,900 apartments.

Rent data were provided by Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors.

RENTCafé reported that rents increased in 84% of cities in April, compared with a year ago; were unchanged in 14% of cities; and decreased in 2% of cities.

It said increasing demand across the board had caused one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment rents to go up by 3.3% in April, compared with year-ago prices, while studio apartment rents rose by 2.9% year over year.

In April, the average rent for a studio apartment in the U.S. was $1,216, for a one-bedroom apartment $1,241, for a two-bedroom apartment $1,454 and for a three-bedroom unit $1,682.

Check out the gallery for the 10 cheapest US cities to rent an apartment in April.

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