This Is the Most Expensive City for Renters in Each State

We analyzed our rental data to find out the most expensive city for renting in each state, plus Washington, DC, based on the median rent price of a one-bedroom apartment over the course of the last month. Some of our findings are:

Keep reading to see our insights and our full list of the most expensive city in each state. Do you see your city on the list?

Here’s how much you’ll end up paying per month if you live alone in one of the top 10 most expensive cities by state on our list, in a one-bedroom apartment at the median price.

While more and more tech companies are embracing remote work, it seems that tech hubs still come with the biggest price tag in terms of rent in their respective states. Of the top 10 most expensive cities on our list: More than half are tech hubs or cities with a reasonably easy commute to tech hubs.

Unsurprisingly, densely populated tech hubs like Manhattan and Washington, D.C. appeared in the top 10 most expensive cities by state. But also breaking the top 10 list were cities that are nearby, like:

In some cases, living in these smaller cities within the same metro area as a tech hub can still lead to significant savings, despite the added commute (and the fact that they are the most expensive city in their state).

For example, by living in Hoboken instead of Manhattan, you could save $1,525 a month, or $18,300 a year, in rent. While the commute would be much longer, living in Stamford rather than New York City would save you $25,560 annually. The overall cost of living in New Jersey and Connecticut is also lower than in New York, despite the fact that all three areas are experiencing the same price hikes that we are seeing year-over-year on a national level.

In others, moving outside the tech hub city could end up costing you:

More populated cities often tend to have the highest rent prices — the top 25 most expensive cities in their respective states on our list also includes the 10 most populated cities on our list — but just because a city is more highly populated does not mean it will have a higher rent price than a smaller city in the same state.

Smaller coastal cities will also almost always come with higher rental prices than much larger cities that are further from the coast. Our top 10 most expensive cities are all located on either the East or West Coast.

Cities clustered on the coasts are notably the most expensive for renters. In this map visualization, states that appear a darker shade of blue are more expensive than those that are a lighter shade.

This isn't always the case, though. Notable non-coastal cities — most with larger populations than our top 10 (excluding Manhattan) — in the top 25 most expensive cities by state are:

Find our complete list of the most expensive city in every state below.

For more data, dig into one of our Market Reports, where we rank the largest cities in the country based on rent prices on a daily basis and provide neighborhood data; our National Rent Report, where we analyzed rental data and trends across U.S. cities; or our Massachusetts Rent Report, where we analyze median rent prices for units available for rent in Massachusetts, highlighting the cities and towns with the most and least expensive median rent prices, as well as recent rent price trends.

Methodology: We analyzed our rental data to find out the most expensive city for renting in every state, plus Washington, DC, based on the median rent price of a one-bedroom apartment over the course of the last month. We only looked at the data for cities with populations higher than 20,000 people. The above data also includes only cities and towns that meet adequate inventory thresholds during the past month.

If you want more guidelines on rent prices as you look for your next place, start your search here. And if you want an even closer look at what a potential move may cost you with cost of living factored in, use our rent calculator.

At ApartmentAdvisor, we give every listing a deal rating to let you know if an apartment is fairly priced for the market.

If you'd like to download this report, please contact PR at amy.mueller@apartmentadvisor.com