Midwest Markets Report Notably Tight Apartment Occupancy

Most major apartment markets across the Midwest are logging occupancy ahead of national norms.

Among the nation’s 50 largest apartment markets, Milwaukee was a top performer in August with an occupancy rate of 95.8%. In fact, only three other major markets across the U.S. had a stronger showing as of August. New York, Newark and Anaheim – all markets where occupancy generally registers above average – posted rates between 95.9% and 96.9% in August.

Most of the rest of the major Midwest apartment markets saw occupancy rates tightly clustered between 94% and 95%, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics.

The only Midwest markets reporting August occupancy behind the U.S. average of 94.1% were St. Louis and Indianapolis, where rates were just shy of that mark at 93.7% and 93.6%, respectively.

Detroit was the only Midwest market where occupancy increased over the past year. Occupancy climbed 50 basis points (bps) between August 2023 and August 2024, marking one of the highest upticks nationwide. Detroit was one of only five major apartment markets across the U.S. with occupancy growth of 50 bps or more in the past year. Three of those were in the West (Las Vegas, Riverside and Sacramento), while one was in the South (Richmond).

The rest of the major Midwest markets suffered occupancy decline in the past year, with the deepest declines happening in Cincinnati, Milwaukee and St. Louis.