The Nation’s 10 Most Affordable Large Apartment Markets

It’s no surprise that the most affordable major apartment markets in the country are in the South and Midwest regions. Of the nation’s 50 largest markets, six of the most affordable were in the Midwest and four were in the South. Taking the top three slots on the most affordable list are South region markets, with Greensboro/Winston-Salem taking the #1 spot with average effective asking rents of $1,209 in November, according to RealPage Market Analytics. That’s nearly $600 a month less than the national average ($1,805). Memphis ($1,222) and San Antonio ($1,241) were also under the $1,250 mark. Despite their relative affordability, those three South region markets ranked among the nation’s 10 weakest occupancy performances, with the lowest reading of 91.2% in San Antonio, followed by Memphis (#2 at 92.1%) and Greensboro/Winston-Salem (#8 at 92.6%). Midwest markets comprised a big slice of the most affordable rents list, ranging from $1,257 in Cleveland to $1,310 in Columbus. Rounding out the nation’s 10 most affordable large markets was Houston, with average monthly rents at $1,353 in November. At the opposite end of the spectrum, New York had by far the nation’s highest monthly asking rents of $4,501 and the tightest occupancy rate of 97%.