What a typical rental costs each month, cheapest first.
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Rankings · Most Expensive Rent by City
San Francisco, California Has the Most Expensive Rent of Any Big City in America (2026)
San Francisco, California has the most expensive rent of the 106 US cities we rank, at $4,784 a month (Zillow, September 2026). New York, New York is next, at $4,089 a month.
By The Honest Local · 106 cities · every value links to its public source
$4,784San Francisco, California leads on the list, the highest reading of 106 citiesThe typical monthly rent, straight from the tape.
The top five cities
No. 1San Francisco, California$4,784a month
No. 2New York, New York$4,089a month
No. 3San Jose, California$3,582a month
No. 4Boston, Massachusetts$3,271a month
No. 5San Diego, California$3,004a month
Most Expensive Rent by City on the map
Rent, cities
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Most Expensive Rent by City, all 106
The full ranking
| Place | a month | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, Californiabig city | $4,784 |
| 2 | New York, New Yorkbig city | $4,089 |
| 3 | San Jose, Californiabig city | $3,582 |
| 4 | Boston, Massachusettsbig city | $3,271 |
| 5 | San Diego, Californiabig city | $3,004 |
| 6 | Miami, Floridabig city | $2,965 |
| 7 | Oxnard, California | $2,894 |
| 8 | Los Angeles, Californiabig city | $2,772 |
| 9 | Honolulu, Hawaiibig city | $2,715 |
| 10 | Riverside, Californiabig city | $2,427 |
| 11 | Washington, DCbig city | $2,407 |
| 12 | Portland, Maine | $2,399 |
| 13 | Chicago, Illinoisbig city | $2,311 |
| 14 | Charleston, South Carolina | $2,288 |
| 15 | Seattle, Washingtonbig city | $2,227 |
| 16 | Sarasota, Florida | $2,210 |
| 17 | Providence, Rhode Island | $2,190 |
| 18 | Worcester, Massachusetts | $2,122 |
| 19 | Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city | $2,098 |
| 20 | Sacramento, Californiabig city | $2,045 |
| 21 | Stockton, Californiabig city | $2,032 |
| 22 | Bridgeport, Connecticut | $2,020 |
| 23 | Reno, Nevadabig city | $1,997 |
| 24 | New Haven, Connecticut | $1,972 |
| 25 | Cape Coral, Florida | $1,953 |
| 26 | Fresno, Californiabig city | $1,945 |
| 27 | Atlanta, Georgiabig city | $1,942 |
| 28 | Tampa, Floridabig city | $1,930 |
| 29 | Bakersfield, Californiabig city | $1,901 |
| 30 | Boise, Idaho | $1,900 |
| 31 | Orlando, Floridabig city | $1,889 |
| 32 | Poughkeepsie, New York | $1,865 |
| 33 | Denver, Coloradobig city | $1,855 |
| 34 | Melbourne, Florida | $1,841 |
| 35 | Madison, Wisconsinbig city | $1,837 |
| 36 | Nashville, Tennesseebig city | $1,820 |
| 37 | Vancouver, Washington | $1,803 |
| 38 | Baltimore, Marylandbig city | $1,762 |
| 39 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city | $1,757 |
| 40 | Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city | $1,747 |
| 41 | Charlotte, North Carolinabig city | $1,729 |
| 42 | Asheville, North Carolina | $1,726 |
| 43 | Portland, Oregonbig city | $1,719 |
| 44 | Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city | $1,717 |
| 45 | Savannah, Georgia | $1,712 |
| 46 | Knoxville, Tennessee | $1,701 |
| 47 | Las Vegas, Nevadabig city | $1,700 |
| 48 | Lakeland, Florida | $1,687 |
| 49 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | $1,686 |
| 50 | Albany, New York | $1,664 |
| 51 | New Orleans, Louisianabig city | $1,633 |
| 52 | Richmond, Virginia | $1,628 |
| 53 | Durham, North Carolinabig city | $1,626 |
| 54 | Dallas, Texasbig city | $1,604 |
| 55 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | $1,602 |
| 56 | Jacksonville, Floridabig city | $1,589 |
| 57 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | $1,581 |
| 58 | Provo, Utah | $1,575 |
| 59 | Raleigh, North Carolinabig city | $1,572 |
| 60 | Austin, Texasbig city | $1,571 |
| 60 | Phoenix, Arizonabig city | $1,571 |
| 60 | Salt Lake City, Utah | $1,571 |
| 63 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city | $1,569 |
| 64 | Syracuse, New York | $1,566 |
| 65 | Greenville, South Carolina | $1,564 |
| 66 | Hartford, Connecticut | $1,555 |
| 67 | Houston, Texasbig city | $1,544 |
| 68 | Daytona Beach, Florida | $1,518 |
| 69 | El Paso, Texasbig city | $1,508 |
| 70 | Columbia, South Carolina | $1,500 |
| 71 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | $1,498 |
| 72 | Spokane, Washington | $1,483 |
| 73 | Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city | $1,478 |
| 74 | Columbus, Ohiobig city | $1,471 |
| 75 | Rochester, New York | $1,454 |
| 76 | Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city | $1,452 |
| 77 | Kansas City, Missouribig city | $1,446 |
| 78 | Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city | $1,443 |
| 79 | Cincinnati, Ohiobig city | $1,432 |
| 80 | Tucson, Arizonabig city | $1,428 |
| 81 | St. Louis, Missouribig city | $1,427 |
| 82 | Buffalo, New Yorkbig city | $1,421 |
| 83 | Greensboro, North Carolinabig city | $1,395 |
| 84 | Omaha, Nebraskabig city | $1,389 |
| 85 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | $1,388 |
| 86 | San Antonio, Texasbig city | $1,381 |
| 87 | Indianapolis, Indianabig city | $1,375 |
| 88 | Cleveland, Ohiobig city | $1,359 |
| 89 | Augusta, Georgia | $1,344 |
| 90 | Huntsville, Alabama | $1,335 |
| 91 | Louisville, Kentuckybig city | $1,330 |
| 92 | Detroit, Michiganbig city | $1,328 |
| 93 | Ogden, Utah | $1,316 |
| 94 | Birmingham, Alabama | $1,305 |
| 95 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | $1,301 |
| 96 | McAllen, Texas | $1,300 |
| 97 | Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city | $1,285 |
| 98 | Tulsa, Oklahomabig city | $1,273 |
| 99 | Memphis, Tennesseebig city | $1,259 |
| 100 | Dayton, Ohio | $1,241 |
| 101 | Jackson, Mississippi | $1,228 |
| 102 | Little Rock, Arkansas | $1,184 |
| 103 | Akron, Ohio | $1,176 |
| 104 | Wichita, Kansasbig city | $1,159 |
| 105 | Toledo, Ohiobig city | $1,151 |
| 106 | Des Moines, Iowa | $1,129 |
Sources and method
- Zillow Observed Rent Index · 2026-09
How we got this. Typical rent is Zillow's Observed Rent Index for each city's metro area, refreshed monthly. Cities rank from cheapest to priciest. Zillow doesn't publish a state rent index, so there's no state list here, and we won't fake one by handing a whole state one city's number. It refreshes monthly, when Zillow publishes.
Rankings by The Honest Local from public data, one page per list, refreshed on each source’s own cycle. Places with no reading are left out rather than estimated. Every value on this page carries its source in the page’s structured data.