Record rent highs in three US metro areas as rent exceeds budgets everywhere
SpareRoom publishes its quarterly rental index for Q3 2026, which uniquely tracks roommate rents in shared households in 26 major US metros at the center of America's housing affordability crisis.
NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In the third quarter of 2026, roommates saw monthly rent hit a record high in New York ($1,543), San Francisco Bay Area ($1,380) - also the two most expensive metros in which to live as a roommate - and West Palm Beach ($1,229).
Chicago, where almost five (4.9) people are now competing for every available room and demand is up 46% on last year, saw the highest year-over-year rent rise (+5.3%) across all the metros SpareRoom tracks. Renting in a shared apartment as a roommate here now costs $1,026/month on average.
By contrast, Baltimore saw the biggest year-over-year decrease (-8.2%) and the cheapest average monthly rent can be found in San Antonio ($756) and Houston ($852).
Rents vs budgets
SpareRoom also tracks the amount roommates have to spend on rent and, in all 26 of the metros in its index, average rent was higher than the average budget.
People looking to rent as roommates in the notoriously expensive San Francisco Bay Area have the most realistic budgets, only short by $34 per year. But the situation in New York is especially dire: rents exceed roommates' budgets by a staggering $2,782/year.
In fact, roommates will find themselves short by more than $2,000/year in five metros: New York, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, San Diego and Miami.
Q3 overview
- Record rent highs: seen in three US metros: New York ($1,543), San Francisco Bay Area ($1,380), West Palm Beach ($1,229)
- Highest year-over-year rent rise: Chicago (+5.3%)
- Highest year-over-year rent fall: Baltimore (-8.2%)
- Highest monthly rent: New York ($1,543)
- Lowest monthly rent: San Antonio ($756)
- Highest demand (enquiries per room available): Chicago (4.9)
- Highest budget vs rent imbalance: New York ($2,782/year)
The table below shows average rents in the 26 metropolitan areas most popular among US roommates, in order of their year-over-year rent change. Record-high rents are marked:
Metro area | Average | Average | Year-over- year | Budget vs | |
1 | Chicago, IL, IN, WI | $1,026 | $974 | 5.3 | $1,299 |
2 | San Antonio, TX | $756 | $721 | 4.9 | $1,256 |
3 | San Francisco Bay Area, CA | $1,380* | $1,320 | 4.6 | $34 |
4 | New York, NJ, NY | $1,543* | $1,492 | 3.4 | $2,782 |
5 | Philadelphia, MD, NJ, PA | $908 | $885 | 2.6 | $431 |
6 | Atlanta, GA | $952 | $934 | 1.9 | $1,817 |
7 | Dallas, TX | $908 | $892 | 1.8 | $1,867 |
8 | Seattle, WA | $1,078 | $1,062 | 1.5 | $1,399 |
9 | San Bernardino, CA | $1,009 | $996 | 1.3 | $1,632 |
10 | Tampa, FL | $961 | $952 | 1.0 | $1,123 |
11 | San Diego, CA | $1,327 | $1,316 | 0.8 | $2,151 |
12 | Riverside, CA | $1,020 | $1,015 | 0.5 | $1,485 |
13 | West Palm Beach, FL | $1,229* | $1,224 | 0.4 | $1,917 |
14 | Boston, MA, NH | $1,273 | $1,271 | 0.2 | $993 |
15 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | $1,157 | $1,164 | -0.6 | $2,161 |
16 | Las Vegas, NV | $872 | $879 | -0.8 | $1,123 |
17 | Sacramento, CA | $994 | $1,004 | -1.0 | $842 |
18 | Houston, TX | $852 | $864 | -1.4 | $1,547 |
19 | Washington DC, DC, MD, VA, WV | $1,121 | $1,141 | -1.8 | $1,864 |
20 | Los Angeles, CA | $1,327 | $1,353 | -1.9 | $2,611 |
21 | Miami, FL | $1,291 | $1,319 | -2.1 | $2,013 |
22 | Orlando, FL | $895 | $916 | -2.3 | $838 |
23 | Denver, CO | $1,022 | $1,051 | -2.8 | $1,401 |
24 | Phoenix, AZ | $899 | $934 | -3.8 | $1,001 |
25 | Austin, TX | $885 | $920 | -3.8 | $1,177 |
26 | Baltimore, MD | $867 | $944 | -8.2 | $943 |
*indicates highest rent on record
The table below shows the top five most expensive places to rent as a roommate. There have been notable changes from the previous quarter (Q2 2026), when San Diego was the second most expensive metro, and Boston was in fifth place, now replaced by Miami. San Francisco Bay Area has moved up from fourth to second position.
Q3 2026 | Q2 2026 | |||
Metro area | Average | Metro area | Average | |
1 | New York, NJ, NY | $1,543 | New York, NJ, NY | $1,515 |
2 | San Francisco Bay Area, CA | $1,380 | San Diego, CA | $1,346 |
3 | San Diego, CA | $1,327 | Los Angeles, CA | $1,338 |
4 | Los Angeles, CA | $1,327 | San Francisco Bay Area, CA | $1,332 |
5 | Miami, FL | $1,291 | Boston, MA, NH | $1,321 |
Matt Hutchinson, director of roommate site SpareRoom, comments: "It's really concerning that rent always exceeds roommates' budgets, and by thousands of dollars a year in some cases. Roommate rent tends to keep rising because it's the most affordable living arrangement available to renters, and consistently high demand puts upward pressure on prices. The only way out of the housing crisis is to find ways to increase supply in both the long and short term. Constructing new homes doesn't happen overnight, but removing barriers to homesharing can be relatively quick."
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Data methodology: Based on asking rents for almost 60K room-offered ads placed on SpareRoom in Q3 2026 and Q3 2025. To be included, US metro areas had a minimum of 250 ads for each quarter, making these metros the largest roommate markets in the US.
About SpareRoom
SpareRoom is the #1 roommate finder and every three minutes someone finds a roommate on SpareRoom. SpareRoom is active across the UK and US and has so far helped more than 19 million people fill or find a room. spareroom.com
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