An in-depth look at the Massachusetts rental market

When it rains it pours, and the region is awash in climbing rental prices.

The median rent in Boston surpassed $3,000 back in June, and shows no signs of abating. And prices in our neighboring city to the south are climbing, too.

The median rent in Boston in July was $3,124, a 2% increase since June 27, according to Apartment Advisor, an online marketplace. In Providence, the median rent in July was $2,225, a whopping 16% increase since Aug. 1, 2022.

It’s driven by demand.

On June 25, RentCafe, an online marketplace, ranked Boston as the fourth most sought-after city by renters in the Northeast, behind Philadelphia; Queens, N.Y.; and the Bronx, N.Y. That ranking is based on apartment availability, page views, favorited listings, and saved personalized searches. The city ranked third in June. “The competition got fiercer in Boston, with an 11% decrease in available units compared to the previous year, which also suggests a high demand,” according to the report.

And Providence? It leapt from the 66th spot up to No. 7 in that analysis.

Apartment Advisor’s cost rankings put Boston and Providence in the top 15:

Rental prices in Boston

These were your average asking rents for apartments in Boston:

Bargains can be had for studio apartments in Jamaica Plain and Back Bay, where the median rents for available listings have slipped more than 40% and nearly 17%, respectively, since August 2022.

Prospective renters looking for bargains on one- and two-bedroom apartments could turn to Allston for deals, where rents have dropped about 24% and 12% in those categories, respectively, since August 2022. Prices for one-bedrooms have shot up in Roslindale, Roxbury, the Seaport, and Brighton. Securing a two-bedroom in the Seaport will also cost you more, but South Boston apartment hunters are enjoying an 11% drop in asking rents year over year.

The available three-bedroom listings in Back Bay reflect a price jump of nearly 63% since August 2022, and costs also rose substantially in West Roxbury. Apartment hunters may find bargains in the North End and Hyde Park.

And so goes the Commonwealth

The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Massachusetts in May was $2,500, which reflects a 0.4% year-over-year increase, according to a report Apartment Advisor released today.

These were the five most expensive communities for renters based on available listings on the site:

Where’s Boston? The capital landed at No. 6., with a median rent of that is 1.9% higher than it was last year at this time, according to the report.

The five least expensive were:

What is more telling is where prices are climbing the fastest month over month: Winthrop (14.7%), Leominster (7.8%), Pittsfield (7.1%), and Worcester (5.2%).

And where they are decreasing the most month over month: Everett (-9.8%), Lexington (-4.7%), Quincy (-4.3%), Watertown (-3.4%), and Malden (-2.3%).

What are rental prices doing in the community you have your eye on?

Eileen Woods

Editor, real estate

Eileen McEleney Woods is the real estate editor for Boston.com and editor of the Boston Globe's Sunday real estate section (Address). 

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