Where DC-area rents are rising the most

estate agent giving house keys to woman and sign agreement in office(Getty Images/iStockphoto/Natee Meepian)
Nationally, rents rose an average 3% in 2019. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/Natee Meepian)

Buying a house or a condo in the D.C. market isn’t cheap, but neither is renting: The Washington Metro region ranked as eighth most expensive market for average apartment rent in 2019, according to apartment search site RentCafe.

The average rent for all apartment types in the District for December was $2,236 per month, up 4.3% from the previous year. The average rent in Arlington rose 4.5% in 2019, to $2,252 a month. Alexandria rents rose 2.9% last year, to an average $1,752.

Nationally, rents rose an average 3% in 2019.

Manhattan remained the most expensive place for renters in 2019, with an average rent across all apartment types of $4,211 per month. Manhattan was followed by San Francisco, at $3,688 per month; Boston, at $3,438 per month; Brooklyn, New York, at $2,929 per month; and San Jose, at $2,685 per month.

Phoenix experienced the biggest annual increase in rents, jumping 9.6% last year.

RentCafe ranks markets by average rents, broken down by large, mid-sized and small series. See the results below.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up