Five West Region Markets with Rents Below U.S. Norm
Out of the 14 major markets in the West region of the U.S., only five have rents below the U.S. average.
In January, effective asking rents across the nation averaged at $1,818 monthly, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. While markets with more affordable prices than that are mostly in the South and Midwest regions of the country, a few West region markets are also included, as is one in the Northeast (Pittsburgh).
West region markets commanded monthly rents at an average of $2,209 in January. Markets that heavily skew the region with big price tags include San Francisco and San Jose, where average rents stand north of the $3,000-mark. But on the other hand, five markets brought down the West region average, with prices at or below $1,800.
Las Vegas logged the lowest apartment rents in the West region, with prices at $1,439 in January. This was similar to monthly rates in South region markets Jacksonville ($1,436) and Austin ($1,460). It’s typical for Las Vegas to trail U.S. norms. Over the course of the past decade, Las Vegas rents have come in roughly $328 below U.S. rate, on average. It should be noted, however, that prices in Las Vegas as of January 20205 are still well ahead of where they were a decade ago. The effective rate from January 2015 ($789) was a little more than half of January 2025's price.
Phoenix prices also typically rank behind the U.S. norm. However, in 2021 and 2022, price hikes in Phoenix pushed rates very close to the U.S. average. More recently, rent cuts have pulled prices back down in Phoenix, landing at $1,504 in January. Still, that’s well ahead of prices of $814 from January 2015. Inspiring recent rent cuts, occupancy in Phoenix has also come down in recent years, and registered at 93.7% in January 2025, one of the lowest rates among major markets nationwide.
Salt Lake City was the only other West region market with rents at or below the $1,500-mark. With prices of $1,514 in January, Salt Lake City prices match those in Dallas and come in below the likes of Richmond and Virginia Beach. Like Phoenix, Salt Lake City saw prices climb and then fall in the past five years. But rents today remain well ahead of Salt Lake City’s prices of $888 from January 2015.
West region market Portland also garnered rents below the U.S. norm. For much of the past decade, Portland rents ran neck-and-neck with the national average, but at the end of 2022, price cuts pulled average rents here below the U.S. norm and that gap has gotten wider since. Back in January 2015, rents in Portland averaged much lower at $1,083. As of January 2025, average rents in Portland registered approximately $100 below the national average.
While typically topping the national average, Denver rents recently dropped below the U.S. norm, with prices hitting $1,801 in January. In fact, this was the first time in 10 years that monthly rents in Denver came in behind the U.S. average. Prices here peaked in July at $1,925 before coming down at the end of 2024. Back in January 2015, apartment rent in Denver averaged $1,221 per month.
