Map Shows US States With Highest, Lowest Rent

The vertigo-inducing growth of home rent prices during the pandemic has finally lost pace but, as Newsweek's map of state highs and lows shows (below), the cost remains generally much higher than in 2019.

The median gross rent in the country according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 data was $1,300, with a margin of error of about $3. In 2019 it was $1,097, according to the Census ACS survey. The homeownership rate in the nation in 2022 was 65.2 percent, with a margin of error of 0.1 percent.

On the state level, California had the highest median gross rent, according to the Census Bureau latest data, at $1,870. Hawaii followed with a median gross rent of $1,813.

Colorado came third with a median gross rent of $1,646, trailed by Washington ($1,630), New Jersey ($1,555), Maryland ($1,550), Florida ($1,525), New York ($1,499), Nevada ($1,461) and Arizona ($1,450).

The cheapest rent prices could be found in West Virginia ($795), Arkansas ($846), North Dakota ($863), South Dakota ($866), Mississippi ($873), Iowa and Kentucky ($891), Wyoming ($895), Alabama ($913) and Oklahoma ($937).

According to Rent.com, rents have since increased. The median price of an apartment in February 2024 was higher, at $1,981, up from $1,964 in January and December 2023. Compared to March 2019, just before the pandemic, rent was 21 percent higher, though it was still below the peak of $2,053 in summer 2022.

Median asking rent prices were much higher in the Northeast ($2,481) and the West ($2,349), which were both above the national average, compared to those in the South ($1,635) and Midwest ($1,441), both below the national average.

Those struggling with expensive rent can find solace in the fact that prices are finally leveling off, according to a recent study by Redfin which found that in January the median U.S. asking rent rose by "only" 1.1 percent year over year to $1,964, remaining unchanged from a month before.

This might be in part linked to the fact that a record number of new apartments is now under construction. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said that the number of completed apartments will peak this year—potentially contributing to cooling down rent prices.

Read more: First-Time Homebuyer Guide

Below, you can find a table showing the median gross rent in every U.S. state, based on the Census Bureau data.