America’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes for Renters in 2018
We’re in the middle of the rental season, so if there’s ever a time to talk about the most expensive markets, this is probably it. Much like outside temperatures, rents usually peak toward the middle of summer, and this year it really is scorching out there. The U.S. average rent has reached $1,409 in July—an all-time high, making renters nostalgic even of the $1,370 recorded in last July.
For singling out the most expensive areas we compared average apartment rents for all ZIP codes in 130 major U.S. markets from Yardi Matrix.
Where Is It More Expensive to Rent Than in Manhattan?
If you want the short answer: nowhere. Not in the U.S. at least, and not if you compare averages. A stunning 26 out of the 50 ZIP codes with the most expensive average rents in the country are located in Manhattan.
Right off the bat, the winner and the runner-up for the not-so-prestigious title of “Most Expensive Area for Renting” are both Manhattan ZIP codes. 10282 and 10013 cover the sought-after Lower Manhattan area including the Rockefeller Park area of Battery Park City as well as the lower end of SoHo, most of TriBeCa and the western blocks of Chinatown. This is hardly any news so far, but what’s more interesting is that 10282 has managed to pull this off while having its average price decreased since last year by 1.8% to $5,657.
50 Most Expensive ZIP Codes — 2018
Table by RENTCafe.com
But let’s just put it this way: there are a handful of places where rents are higher than in most of Manhattan. ZIP code 90024 in Los Angeles, covering most of the Westwood neighborhood, surrounding the UCLA campus ranks as the third most expensive ZIP code in the U.S., having registered an average rent of $4,883 in July, 3.2% higher than in the same period last year.
ZIP code 94105—including parts of The East Cut neighborhood in San Francisco—completes the short list of non-Manhattan areas that made the top 10, ranked 6th with a monthly average rent of $4,666. Boston’s 02199 (#11 with $4,439), 90048 covering most of Beverly Grove in Los Angeles (#12 with $4,391), 94158 in San Francisco’s Mission Bay (#14 with $4,336) and 94925 covering the North Bay area of Corte Madera (#18 with $4,290) break Manhattan’s reign over the top 20.
Take a look at the 10 most expensive Manhattan ZIPs for renters on the map below:
NYC is also represented this year by Brooklyn with 11201 claiming 38th place coming in at a $3,702 monthly average
Silicon Valley areas also prevail, claiming 7 spots among the 50 most expensive areas for renting, such as ZIP code 94063 (Redwood City), 94025 (Menlo Park), 94043 and 94040 (Mountain View), 94404 (San Mateo), 95014 (Cupertino) and 94085 (Sunnyvale), with apartments costing between $4,025 (#26) and $3,609 (#47) in average rent per month. Outside San Francisco and Silicon Valley, the Bay Area has another strong contender, ZIP code 94704 (#45) covering parts of Downtown and Southside Berkeley, where a monthly $3,616 counts as an average price.
Not only Silicon Valley, Silicon Beach is also popular, if apartment prices are anything to go by. ZIP code 90094 in Playa Vista took 37th place with $3,808, followed by 90401 in Santa Monica with an average rent of $3,682 (#40), and Marina Del Rey’s 90292 coming in at $3,642 (#44)
The average rent of $3,610 has landed ZIP code 02141 in Cambridge on 46th place nationally.
Looking for cheap rent? These locations offer apartments for less than $600
While some Manhattan ZIPs will command four times the national average rent without much in the way of indecision, there are plenty of urban areas where you can easily find a decent apartment for less than half of it. Or even for a third of it, as exemplified by ZIP codes 67213, 67211 and 67218 in Wichita, KS, all averaging under $470. If you draw the line at $500, Memphis, TN is also a viable option with three ZIP codes offering average rents below that mark, and so is Decatur, AL with one, which covers most of the city. Southern and Midwestern markets are preponderate at the bottom of the list, Tucson, AZ representing the entire Western United States with a $571 average rent in ZIP code 85711
If you find the idea of paying less rent than half of the U.S. average rent tempting enough to consider relocating, browse the list below where we collected the ZIP codes with average rents under $600. Click on the column headers or use the search bar to sort and filter the entries.
ZIP Codes with Average Rents Below $600 — 2018
Table by RENTCafe.com
Methodology
- This study uses the actual rent charged in apartment buildings with 50 or more rental units, located in over 130 U.S. markets, totaling approximately 15 million apartment units.
- ZIP codes with less than 200 rental units and less than 3 properties were not included in the study.
- Average rent prices are as of July 2018.
Source: rentcafe.com
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