Rents Edge Up 0.1% Year Over Year for the First Time Since 2023

After three years of flat or falling rents, the national rental market has nudged into positive territory on an annual basis, though barely. Apartment List's national rent report for November, which covers October data and was published Oct. 28, puts the median US rent at $1,384 a month, $1 higher than a year earlier.

The headline numbers

• Median rent: $1,384, up 0.1% from October 2025. Apartment List describes it as the first positive year-over-year reading in more than three years.
• Month to month: down 0.3%, the second straight monthly decline, which is typical as the market enters its off-season.
• Vacancy: 7.0% in October, below the 7.3% peak reached in February 2026.
• By size: $1,215 for a one-bedroom and $1,369 for a two-bedroom.

Yield PRO, which covered the report on Nov. 2, gave slightly more precise figures. It said the median fell $4 from September, rents were down 0.34% on the month and up 0.06% on the year, the first annual increase since May 2023. It also reported that days on market remain the longest for this time of year in Apartment List's data.

Why a $1 gain matters, and why it doesn't

A one-dollar annual change is effectively flat. What makes it notable is the direction: for more than three years the yearly reading had been negative, according to Apartment List. Turning positive does not mean rents are climbing quickly. It suggests the long slide has leveled off, at least on paper, while the typical unit still takes longer to lease than it did in recent years.

A market split in two

The national figure hides large regional differences. Among large metros, Apartment List found rents fell month over month in 45 of the 55 it tracks, and 35 were higher than a year ago.

• Biggest annual gains: San Francisco (about 13%) and San Jose (about 9%) lead, with Midwestern metros such as Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee and Kansas City also rising. Yield PRO listed Detroit at 3.8% and Milwaukee at 2.9%.
• Biggest annual declines: San Antonio (down 3.8%) and Austin (down 1.2%) remain weak, alongside Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and Houston, which Yield PRO put at declines of roughly 2% each.
• Price extremes among the 100 largest cities: San Francisco is the most expensive at $3,843, ahead of San Jose ($3,146), Irvine ($3,144) and Fremont ($2,980). Toledo, Ohio, is the cheapest at $895, followed by Cleveland ($1,018), Wichita ($1,025) and Tucson ($1,041).

Where the sources differ

The two accounts do not match on every number. Apartment List's page gives vacancy as 7.0% and says it covers 55 large metros, while Yield PRO cited a 6.69% vacancy rate and 54 metros. The annual change is shown as 0.1% in one place and 0.06% in another, which looks like rounding. We used Apartment List's own figures for headline numbers and flagged the ones that differ.

What this means for renters

• Your metro matters more than the national number. If you rent in Texas, Phoenix, Denver or Las Vegas, the data suggest you have more room to negotiate. In San Francisco and San Jose, expect the opposite.
• Winter is a buyer's season. Rents typically dip in the fall and winter. If your lease ends soon, ask your landlord about renewing at a flat rate and compare it with listings nearby.
• Run the numbers. Our renter tools include a rent-increase calculator and a move-in cost estimator to compare staying with moving.
• Look beyond the sticker price. Concessions, fees and length of lease can change the real monthly cost.

For earlier readings, see our coverage of recent rent-price reports. Apartment List's figures measure asking rents for newly listed units, so they may differ from what existing tenants pay at renewal.