14 cities with deals on affordable apartments as rent slides alongside interest rates

• Apartment prices were slightly cheaper in September than in August as interest rates fell.
• Rent may continue to slide during the quieter months for moving.
• Here are 14 cities where apartments are affordable and getting cheaper.

Rent inched lower in September as the unofficial moving season starts to wind down, but apartment prices are still near all-time highs.

The going rate for an apartment in one of the 100 largest US cities fell ever so slightly this month, real-estate site Zumper found. One-bedroom units were just $1 cheaper than in August at $1,533, while two-bedroom places had a median price of $1,912, versus $1,915 last month.

And while apartment prices rose from September 2023, Zumper researchers noted in their new report that they were only up 1.5% and 2.5% for one- and two-bedroom fixtures, respectively.

14 affordable cities where rent is down meaningfully

Nearly two-thirds of the nation’s 100 biggest real-estate markets experienced either lower or flat rent in September, according to Zumper. However, only 14 cities have one-bedroom apartments that cost less than the national median of $1,533 and were at least 2% cheaper than last year.

Below are those 14 cities, along with their month-over-month and year-over-year rent changes, median rent prices, the monthly savings vs national median, and national rent ranking.