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DC Area Rents: Up For The Month, Down For The Year

  • June 30th

by UrbanTurf Staff

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DC-area rents climbed for a second straight month in May, according to the latest data from Apartment List, though the region's rental market remains firmly in negative territory compared to a year ago.

The median rent across the region now sits at $2,113, up 1% from April, but still down 4.2% from where it stood in May 2025. That annual decline puts the DC area behind the national pace, where rents are down a more modest 1.5% year-over-year. So far in 2026, area rents have risen 1.9%, tracking closely with the 1.8% increase recorded over the same stretch last year.

Across the region, one-bedroom apartments carry a median rent of $2,088, while two-bedrooms run $2,144. That keeps Washington as the 15th most expensive large city in the country, with rents running 53.2% above the national median of $1,379 — putting DC in the same range as Oakland and Los Angeles. 

Below is a snapshot of rents around the DC region in June:

rent-table.jpg
Click to enlarge.

See other articles related to: apartment rents, dc apartment rents, dc area rents

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_area_rents_up_for_the_month_down_for_the_year/24773.

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