A one-bedroom apartment in New York cost a median $2,475 in October, against $1,864 in Los Angeles, $1,723 in Chicago and $1,116 in Houston, Apartment List says. The figures come from the company’s city rent table, published Oct. 28, which covers the 100 largest cities. A move from Houston to New York adds $1,359 a month to a one-bedroom bill, or $16,308 a year.
For retirees weighing a move closer to family or a smaller place, city lines on a rent table are the real budget question. Apartment List’s October figures show how far a monthly rent changes depending on where the lease is signed, and which big cities are heading up or down.
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Why does New York cost twice what Houston does?
New York’s one-bedroom median of $2,475 is more than double Houston’s $1,116, and the two-bedroom gap is nearly as wide at $2,609 against $1,323. Los Angeles two-bedrooms ran $2,377, and Chicago’s $1,875. A second bedroom adds $134 a month in New York, $513 in Los Angeles, $152 in Chicago and $207 in Houston. Apartment List’s authors are chief economist Chris Salviati and lead economic researcher Rob Warnock.
Houston is not the cheapest of the ten biggest cities. San Antonio one-bedrooms ran $953 and Phoenix $1,071, while Dallas came in at $1,207 and Philadelphia at $1,302. At the top, San Diego ran $1,972 and San Jose $2,738.
Over twelve months, a New York one-bedroom at $2,475 comes to $29,700, while Houston’s $1,116 comes to $13,392. Two-bedroom medians in the same table run $1,173 in San Antonio, $1,277 in Phoenix, $1,428 in Dallas, $1,505 in Philadelphia, $2,472 in San Diego and $3,248 in San Jose.
Which of the big cities is getting costlier?
New York rents slipped 0.4% in October yet are 4.3% higher than a year ago, the table shows. Chicago fell 1.1% for the month and sits 3.4% above last October. San Jose is up 7.9% from a year earlier, the biggest annual jump among the ten largest cities, though it eased 0.3% in October.
Several cities moved the other way. Houston rents are down 2.2% from a year ago and Phoenix down 2.5%, with San Antonio off 3.5%. Los Angeles edged up 0.1% for the month but is 0.6% below October 2025, and Dallas is also down 0.6%. Philadelphia is up 1.1% and San Diego up 0.7% from a year earlier.
How far apart do the extremes sit?
Nationally, the picture is calmer than the city tables suggest. Apartment List’s national median slipped 0.3% in October and is up 0.1% from a year earlier, and 32% of multifamily properties are offering concessions worth at least one month’s free rent. A renter comparing cities is comparing sticker prices that landlords in many places are already discounting.
Across all apartment sizes, Apartment List puts San Francisco’s median rent at $3,843, the highest of the 100 largest cities and up 24% from a year earlier, the fastest growth on the list. Toledo, Ohio, sits at the other end at $895, the lowest. Those are overall medians for each city rather than one-bedroom figures. The gap between them is $2,948 a month, or $46,116 a year at San Francisco’s median against $10,740 at Toledo’s.
Nationally, the median is $1,384 a month, and the one-bedroom median is $1,215. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its September consumer price index that rent of primary residence rose 0.2% over the month.
What do federal rent benchmarks add?
People who rent with a federal voucher are paid against HUD’s Fair Market Rents, which the agency sets area by area each fiscal year. The fiscal 2027 figures generally take effect Oct. 1, and areas that filed valid reevaluation requests keep their fiscal 2026 numbers. HUD publishes county, metro-area and small-area files for the whole country.
Selling a house to rent a one-bedroom?
A homeowner who sells to downsize into a rental swaps a mortgage, tax and insurance for a monthly rent that can differ by more than $1,300 between cities. The sale itself carries a tax question as well.
Cut Your House Costs covers that turn. The 11-page guide lays out selling without the tax, up to $250,000 of profit or $500,000 for a couple, and compares home equity options from a HELOC to a reverse mortgage. It was written for homeowners, not renters.
Get the guide to selling without the tax and comparing home equity options →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
