National Rent Report: U.S. Rents Rose 0.1% in July 2026

The typical US rent rose about 0.1% from June to July 2026, or roughly $1 on a typical $1,962-a-month rent, putting the year-over-year change at +3.5%, about $66 a month more than a year earlier. Of the 330 cities with at least 100,000 residents that RentDataNow tracks, 171 saw rent rise month over month while 155 fell.

This is our monthly read on where rent is heading, based on the latest Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) release. The tables below show the largest cities where rent moved most, in both dollars and percentages.

The national picture in July 2026

The typical rent nationwide sits around $1,962 a month. Month over month it rose about 0.1%, roughly $1, and it is +3.5% over the year, about $66 a month. That year-over-year pace is well below the double-digit surges of 2021 and 2022 and closer to a normal rate of rent growth.

Where rents rose the most

The biggest dollar increases came from San Francisco, CA, where rent rose +$138 in a month, from $4,401 to $4,539.

Where rents fell the most

At the other end, the steepest dollar declines were led by Boston, MA, down -$55, from $3,469 to $3,414.

The bigger pattern

These monthly moves sit inside a longer story we track all year: the coastal metros that never built enough housing keep climbing, while several Sun Belt and interior cities, where apartment construction has been heavy, keep giving rent back. We explain that divide in the great rent divergence, and the seasonal timing in the best time of year to rent.

Rent figures come from RentDataNow, anchored to the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) for July 2026; month-over-month change compares July 2026 to June, and year-over-year compares it to the same month in 2025.