Boston has passed San Francisco as the country's second most expensive city for renters

While average rent prices went down across the country's highest-priced cities during the pandemic, Boston saw relatively limited impact

by Chris Gilligan • June 25, 2021

With relatively modest decreases in cost for a one-bedroom rental during the pandemic year, Boston's rental market now ranks second among the most expensive cities in the United States, based on data from ApartmentGuide.com's 2021 Annual Rent Report.

While the country's top 12 most expensive markets all saw costs drop from April 2020-April 2021, Boston's 3% decrease in the mean cost of a one-bedroom apartment was the least significant of all of those markets, leaving the city second only to New York City.

Across the country, large cities saw more pronounced decreases, while mid-tier cities saw mixed impact, with some reflecting more modest discounts and others increasing in cost. Boston's modest losses were more in line with the mid-tier cities.

The modest changes reflect a stubbornly expensive market despite Boston's size - ranking 21st in the country in population, Boston is at the top of the pack with New York, while other major population and cultural centers like Los Angeles and Chicago are profoundly more affordable in comparison.

As Boston's population grows and housing demands increase, there are increasingly fewer options for renters who are looking for affordable neighborhoods. Boston's historically more reasonably priced neighborhoods, including Brighton and neighboring Allston, as well as parts of South Boston, Roxbury, and Dorchester, saw pronounced changes in mean household income from 2013-2018.