Since 2019, renters with lower incomes have had the largest increases in rent, while those with higher incomes have experienced more gradual increases. Some of the wealthy have even postponed becoming homeowners.
Renters with lower incomes have experienced the biggest price rises since 2019, while those with higher incomes have seen more gradual increases—even leading toAccording to the December 2025 rental report from Realtor.com, budget-conscious renters were once again left behind when relief finally arrived after the hectic years of the epidemic and rents began to ease in 2023. Higher-priced rentals saw greater drops than more cheap homes.
The bottom of the market, which is the 25th percentile of asking rent, has increased by around 20% between late 2019 and 2025, while the national median has increased by slightly less than 17%.Some wealthy people are planning to put off becoming homes.
Rent increased by only 12.5% in the market’s top tier (75th percentile).
“This puts disproportionate pressure on the lowest earners to afford their rent while higher-end renters are enjoying the majority of recent rent declines,” said Joel Berner, Senior Economist at Realtor.com.
Researchers looked at rental information for studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments on Realtor.com that were posted for rent in the 50 biggest U.S. metro areas.
Renters Facing High Prices, Market Remains Volatile
Economists compared rent changes at the 25th percentile (lower-priced rentals) and 75th percentile (higher-priced rentals) since the pre-pandemic period in order to understand the difficulties faced by low-income renters—as well as how top-dollar tier pricing affect the rental market overall.
“What we see across the country since 2019 is a compression of asking rents,” Berner said, referring to a narrowing of the price gap between cheaper and more expensive units. “This is due to both a stronger run-up in lower-priced rentals as well as a more modest recent decline.”
Since 2023, rents have been declining; December is the 29th straight month that they have decreased year over year. In the top 50 metro areas, the median asking rent was $1,689, a decrease of 0.7% from December 2024.
However, examining the trajectory of the national median does not provide a whole picture. The majority of the relief has been focused in more expensive for-lease buildings, while less expensive apartments witnessed just slight drops, according to a detailed examination of rents at the high and low ends of the market. Higher-priced rentals have seen a 3.5% price decrease since December 2022, while the median has seen a 2.3% decrease and lower-priced apartments have only seen a 0.8% decrease.
“This helps to answer the question we often hear, ‘if median rent is falling, why do low-income renters continue to struggle?'” Berner said.
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