Are Rent Prices Falling in the US?

The short answer is: in some cities, yes. In others, no, and in a few, rents are rising faster than they have in years. The national picture in 2026 is not a unified trend in either direction. It's a split market where your experience as a renter depends almost entirely on which city you're in.

RentDataNow tracks rent data across hundreds of US cities. Here's what the current year-over-year data shows across 35 major metros, pulled in May 2026.

Where Rents Are Falling

Nine of the 35 major cities in this analysis are down more than 0.5% year over year. The declines are concentrated in two regions: the Florida Gulf Coast and the Arizona metro area.

Florida leads the declines. Largo is down 5.4%, Cape Coral down 3.3%, Bradenton down 2.6%, and Tampa down 2.5%. All four are correcting from a pandemic-era surge that pushed rents up 25% to 35% between 2021 and 2023. Aggressive multifamily construction during the demand spike has delivered supply into a market where in-migration has normalized, and landlords are competing for tenants in a way they haven't been in several years.

In Arizona, Tempe is down 2.4% and Glendale down 0.8%, part of a broader Phoenix metro correction that includes Phoenix proper at minus 0.3%. Texas contributes San Antonio down 1.2% and Houston down 0.7%. The surprise on the falling list is Boston, down 1.7%, a city that had been appreciating consistently for years and appears to be softening as new supply hits the market.

Where Rents Are Essentially Flat

Fifteen cities are in a range between minus 0.5% and plus 3%, which for practical purposes means the market is stable. Austin is down 0.2%, Raleigh up 0.2%, Los Angeles up 0.4%, Las Vegas up 0.5%, Nashville up 0.6%, Denver up 0.9%. These markets are neither correcting nor surging. Renters in flat markets have more negotiating room than they did two years ago but landlords aren't panicking either.

Miami at plus 2.0% is notable for staying positive while the rest of Florida corrects. Miami's international demand base and severe supply constraints have kept it insulated from the Gulf Coast correction. Atlanta at plus 1.5% and Charlotte at plus 0.9% continue their steady appreciation without the volatility of the pandemic years.

Where Rents Are Rising Fast

Eleven cities are growing above 3% year over year, and the concentration is striking: the Northeast, the Midwest, and a few outliers.

San Francisco leads at plus 20.1%, the sharpest increase of any major city in the country. The tech sector's return to office, combined with years of constrained supply, has driven a reversal from the pandemic-era exodus. New York is up 10.8%. Both cities spent 2020 to 2022 being written off as too expensive, and both are making up for that narrative now.

The Midwest is the more broadly concerning story. Cleveland is up 10.2%, Chicago up 7.8%, Pittsburgh up 6.8%, Minneapolis up 5.7%, Columbus up 3.6%, Detroit up 3.6%. These cities spent years being cited as affordable alternatives to the coasts. They are still affordable in absolute terms but the rate of change is eroding that advantage. Cleveland at 10.2% growth against a $40,801 median income is a genuine crisis unfolding slowly.

Richmond, Virginia at plus 10.4% is the surprise entry, driven by in-migration from the DC corridor and a tight housing supply that hasn't responded to rising demand.

The National Average

Across these 35 cities, the average year-over-year change is plus 2.33%. That's not falling. It's modest growth, well below the 7% to 10% peaks of 2021 and 2022, but still outpacing inflation and wage growth in most markets. The national rent market in 2026 is best described as decelerating rather than declining.

The cities where rents are falling are specific: Sun Belt markets that built aggressively and saw demand normalize. The cities where rents are rising are also specific: supply-constrained coastal and Midwest markets where construction hasn't kept up with demand. The cities in between are finding equilibrium.

What This Means for Renters

If you're in a falling market, Tampa, Cape Coral, Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix, or Boston, you have negotiating leverage right now. Below-ask pricing, free months, and waived fees are realistic asks in markets where landlords have vacancy. That window may close as the supply overhang gets absorbed.

If you're in a rising market, particularly Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh, or New York, the time to lock in a longer lease term at a fixed rate is before the next renewal. Landlords in markets growing at 7% to 10% annually have pricing power and they'll use it.

If you're in a flat market, you're in the most stable environment for renters: not being squeezed by rapid increases, not in a market signaling distress. Raleigh, Denver, Nashville, and Charlotte are all in this range, and the financial fundamentals in each city are sound.

The current year-over-year trend for every city is on RentDataNow. The rent burden rankings show where affordability is most strained, and the compare tool lets you run any two cities side by side.