Housing

San Francisco Has America's Most Expensive Rents

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: March 1, 2016 1:50 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 12:30 pm

Home prices in the Bay Area from San Jose to San Francisco are the highest in the country. It makes a degree of sense that rent prices would be as well. And they are. According to Apartment List, the monthly rent for a one-bedroom is averaged $3,500 in February. As the number of rooms rise, rent spikes. The price for the average two-bedroom rental is $4,800

The next tier of most expensive rents are concentrated in the New York City area. The monthly average rent for a one-bedroom is $4,470 in the city proper, $3,150 in Jersey City and $2,360 in Stamford, Conn.

Among the top 10, California has another two: San Jose at $2,650 and Los Angeles at $2,650, as well.

Cities with the fastest growing rents were mostly much smaller. Leading the list was Vancouver, Wash., up year over year, followed by Colorado Springs, Colo. Among the other fast growing:

Orlando, FL: Orlando had the third largest increase in rents nationwide with a 9.0% increase over last year. A 2-bedroom apartment in Vancouver now costs $1,100.

San Jose, CA: San Jose came in 7th place for highest rent increases over last year with 2-bedroom prices up 7.8% over the last year, which means rent prices are growing 2.4 times more quickly than national averages. A 2-bedroom in San Jose averages $2,650.

Austin, TX: Just behind San Jose, Austin, TX claims the number 8 spot for fastest growing rents at 7.7% over February 2015. A 2-bedroom in Austin runs $1,500.