Austin leads Realtor.com's February 2026 rent relief rankings with 18.2% drop since 2022

A four-year low in U.S. rents is reshaping the market. Realtor.com data shows the 10 U.S. markets where relief runs deepest

Sergio Flores / Bloomberg via Getty Images

For the first time in years, renting in America is getting cheaper.

The pandemic housing boom was brutal. Between 2020 and 2022, asking rents across the U.S. surged as remote workers flooded new markets and landlords capitalized on tight supply. By the summer of 2022, the national median asking rent had climbed high enough to price out a generation of renters.

The reversal has been slower, quieter, and, depending on where you live, either a genuine reprieve or a modest consolation. Nationally, rents have now fallen for 30 consecutive months on a year-over-year basis, a streak that reflects something more durable than seasonal softness. The national median asking rent across the 50 largest metros stood at $1,667 in February 2026 — still $207 above pre-pandemic levels but $90 below the 2022 peak and at its lowest point in four years.

The driver, in many of the hardest-hit markets, is supply. A construction boom in multifamily housing, particularly across Sun Belt cities, flooded the rental market with new inventory just as pandemic-era demand began to cool. Landlords are now competing for tenants rather than the other way around.

Not every market has followed the same script. Some cities remain stubbornly close to their all-time highs, with vacancy rates tightening and year-over-year rents climbing again. Others have seen such steep and sustained declines that renters are saving hundreds of dollars a month compared to what they would have paid three years ago.

Realtor.com's February 2026 rental report tracks asking rents across studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units in the 50 largest U.S. metros. Here are the 10 markets where rent relief runs deepest.

1. Austin leads the country in rent relief

Jay Janner / The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images

The median asking rent in Austin, Texas, has dropped 18.2%, or $302 per month, from its September 2022 peak of $1,659, putting February 2026's median at $1,357. Austin has recorded 34 consecutive months of year-over-year declines — among the longest streaks on the list. A surge in multifamily construction reshaped the supply picture dramatically, giving tenants leverage they hadn't seen since before the pandemic.

2. Birmingham sits $232 below its 2022 peak

Raymond Boyd / Getty Images

At $1,125 per month, Birmingham, Alabama, now sits 17.1% below its July 2022 peak for a difference of $232 each month. With 32 straight months of year-over-year declines, Birmingham's correction has been both deep and persistent. The metro entered the pandemic era with some of the country's most affordable rents and has returned closer to that baseline.

3. Memphis gives up most of its pandemic gains

Houston Cofield / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Memphis, Tennessee, peaked at $1,359 in July 2022. Today, the median asking rent is $1,140, down 16.1% or $219 per month. Thirty-four consecutive months of annual declines mark this as one of the most sustained corrections in the country. Like other Southern metros, Memphis benefited from a wave of new apartment supply that arrived just as the post-pandemic rental frenzy faded.

4. Phoenix's 41-month slide shows no sign of stopping

Caitlin O'Hara / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Phoenix rent hit its $1,690 peak in June 2022. It has since fallen 15.6% to $1,427 for a drop of $263 per month. The market has now recorded 41 consecutive months of year-over-year rent declines, second only to Atlanta. Arizona's building boom delivered tens of thousands of new apartment units in a short window, tipping the balance decisively toward renters.

5. Atlanta runs the longest decline streak

Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg via Getty Images

No metro on the list has logged a longer streak of annual rent declines than Atlanta, Georgia, which is at 42 consecutive months and counting. From a peak of $1,820 in October 2021, the median asking rent has fallen 15.2% to $1,543 today, offering monthly savings of $277. Atlanta's correction began earlier than most, partly because its pandemic-era peak arrived sooner.

6. Las Vegas renters are paying $248 less

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Las Vegas peaked at $1,671 in June 2022. The February 2026 median of $1,423 represents a 14.8% decline — $248 per month below the high — after 41 consecutive months of falling rents. The Las Vegas market, which saw outsized demand during the remote-work migration years, has since absorbed a significant volume of new supply.

7. San Diego's drop is the steepest in dollar terms

K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images

While other metros have seen bigger percentage declines, San Diego's fall from its peak is the largest in raw dollar terms at $438 per month. The median asking rent dropped from $3,064 in August 2022 to $2,626 today, plummeting 14.3% across 23 months of year-over-year decreases. The city's high baseline means even modest percentage swings translate into significant savings.

8. Nashville's correction comes later

Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nashville's rent surge lasted longer than most, peaking as recently as July 2023 at $1,693. Since then, the median has fallen 13.9% to $1,457, dropping $236 over a period of 31 consecutive monthly declines. Tennessee's capital attracted significant in-migration and investment during and after the pandemic, but a subsequent wave of apartment construction has rebalanced the market.

9. Raleigh unwinds most of its 2022 run-up

Eamon Queeney / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Raleigh, North Carolina, reached $1,659 in July 2022. By February 2026, the median asking rent had declined 13.4% to $1,437. The city's 34 straight months of annual decreases produced total monthly savings of $222. The Research Triangle's appeal to employers and remote workers drove rents sharply higher during the boom years. New supply has since caught up with demand.

10. Denver drops 13% and keeps falling

 Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post via Getty Images

Denver peaked in August 2023 — more than a year after most Sun Belt markets — at $1,978. The median asking rent has since fallen 13% to $1,720, shaving $258 off monthly costs over 24 consecutive months of declines. When new supply finally landed, it landed hard, pushing rents down sharply in a short timeframe.

© Quartz