Bay Area rent prices are hitting all-time highs and continuing to climb.
Zumper’s National Rent Report released Tuesday breaks down the most expensive cities in the United States based on rent prices.
For one-bedroom apartments, San Francisco checked in at No. 2 with a median rent of $4,180 – an all-time high for the city, according to Zumper. New York City topped the charts at $4,560. San Jose came in fifth at $2,770.
For two-bedroom apartments, San Francisco ranked first at $6,020 and San Jose ranked third at $3,590. This marks the first time that Zumper has seen San Francisco’s two-bedroom rent exceed $6,000 in its records.
San Francisco’s rent prices have been climbing fast over time. One-bedroom rent grew 3% month-over-month and 22.9% year-over-year. For two bedrooms, rent grew 5.6% month-over-month and 25.9% year-over-year.
“AI sector hiring is pulling high earners back into the city, and there’s just minimal new construction in the pipeline, and our own data shows that active listings in San Francisco are down about 30% year-over-year,” said Crystal Chen, co-author of the Zumper report.
#New: Latest national rental prices (median 1BR):
New York: $4,560
San Francisco: $4,180*
Boston: $2,900
Jersey City: $2,820
San Jose: $2,770
Miami: $2,640
Arlington, VA: $2,430
Honolulu: $2,400
Wash, DC: $2,270
San Diego: $2,250
*all-time high
— scott budman (@scottbudman) July 28, 2026