Last updated September 24, 2026

Average Rent in Boston, MA & Rent Trends

Rent prices and market trends across 29 apartment communities in Boston, MA. Updated daily.

Area All Areas Brighton Chinatown D Street / West Broadway East Boston Prudential / St. Botolph South Boston South End West End

Boston 02199

Beds All Bedrooms Studio 1 Bed 2 Bed 3 Bed 4 Bed 5 Bed

Market Average

$4,816/mo

Lowest Available

$1,950/mo

cheapest unit on market

Communities

tracked daily

Units Listed

442

available now

Price Cuts This Week in Boston, MA

176 listed units across 20 buildings in Boston, MA dropped their asking rent in the past 7 days, an average cut of $216/mo. These are the largest cuts, tracked unit by unit with daily price checks.

Apartment	Unit	Last Week	Now	Cut
Boston Pads	Unit 41	$4,711	$2,800	$1,911
Boston Pads	Unit 25	$3,900	$2,000	$1,900
Boston Pads	Unit 30	$5,200	$3,500	$1,700
Boston Pads	Unit 13	$3,600	$2,000	$1,600
Boston Pads	Unit 12	$4,200	$2,800	$1,400
Avalon Exeter	Unit 10	$6,820	$5,695	$1,125
Boston Pads	Unit 23	$3,600	$2,475	$1,125
Boston Pads	Unit 20	$3,525	$2,450	$1,075

See today's prices on all 442 listed units

Rent by Neighborhood in Boston, MA

Compare average rent across Boston, MA neighborhoods. Click any area to see detailed trends. View these neighborhoods on the rent map

Neighborhood	Avg Rent	30d Change	From	Properties	Units
South Boston	$8,183	▲ $777	$2,735	3	22
Boston 02199	$6,241	▼ $718	$3,450	1	17
West End	$5,140	▲ $127	$3,390	3	63
D Street / West Broadway	$4,791	▲ $83	$2,526	14	244
Chinatown	$4,413	▼ $90	$3,510	2	23
South End	$3,554	▼ $426	$2,689	1	18
Brighton	$3,506	▼ $325	$2,610	1	8
Prudential / St. Botolph	$3,379	▲ $65	$1,950	3	33
East Boston	$3,194	▲ $128	$2,375	1	14

Is Rent Going Up or Down in Boston, MA?

As of September 2026, the average rent in Boston, MA is $4,816 per month across 29 apartment communities and 442 available units.

The most affordable option is Boston Pads starting at $1,950/mo. By unit type, a studio averages $3,353/mo, a 1-bedroom averages $4,178/mo, a 2-bedroom averages $6,655/mo, a 3-bedroom averages $7,960/mo, a 4-bedroom averages $3,699/mo, a 5-bedroom averages $3,099/mo.

Prices range from $1,950 to $14,364 per month. The most common price point is the $3,400 range, where 42 units are currently listed.

Boston, MA Rent Price History

Timeframe

View as table

Month	Avg Rent	Change	Properties
April 2026	$4,454	-	9
May 2026	$4,521	+$67	21
June 2026	$4,675	+$154	22
July 2026	$4,724	+$49	28
August 2026	$4,660	-$64	29
September 2026	$4,665	+$5	29

The trend line and monthly averages track each building's average listed price, recorded daily with outliers trimmed. The current month is a month-to-date figure, so it can sit above or below today's live market average shown at the top of this page.

Average Rent by Bedroom

Rent Price Distribution

Rent by Bedroom Type in Boston, MA

Studio

$3,353

from $2,375 · 86 units

1 Bed

$4,178

from $1,950 · 222 units

2 Bed

$6,655

from $3,199 · 111 units

3 Bed

$7,960

from $2,999 · 21 units

4 Bed

$3,699

from $3,699 · 1 units

5 Bed

$3,099

from $3,099 · 1 units

Rent Prices by Apartment in Boston, MA

Property	Starting at	Average	Units	Rating
Boston Pads	$1,950/mo	$2,636/mo	24	4.9
Addison	$2,375/mo	$3,194/mo	14	4.7
Flats on D	$2,526/mo	$3,838/mo	14	4.4
Avalon Brighton	$2,610/mo	$3,506/mo	8	3.9
Ink Block	$2,689/mo	$3,554/mo	18	4.5
West Square Apartments	$2,735/mo	$3,337/mo	3	3.4
VIA Seaport Residences Apartments	$2,931/mo	$4,653/mo	30	4.7
381 Congress Lofts	$2,999/mo	$3,399/mo	5	4.5
315 on A Apartments	$3,150/mo	$3,929/mo	10	4.4
Watermark Seaport Apartments	$3,216/mo	$4,100/mo	23	4.7
The Kensington	$3,289/mo	$3,471/mo	5	4.9
100 Pier 4	$3,307/mo	$4,700/mo	22	3.6
The Alyx	$3,375/mo	$7,143/mo	22	4.7
Ora Seaport Apartments	$3,387/mo	$4,608/mo	17	4.7
The Sudbury	$3,390/mo	$5,315/mo	34	4.6
South Standard	$3,400/mo	$4,204/mo	7	4.9
One Canal Apartment Homes	$3,402/mo	$5,853/mo	11	4.6
The Metlo	$3,420/mo	$4,783/mo	12	4.6
Avalon Exeter	$3,450/mo	$6,241/mo	17	4.9
660 Washington Apartments	$3,510/mo	$4,494/mo	14	4.5
Gables Seaport	$3,524/mo	$4,445/mo	23	4.8
Park Lane Seaport	$3,528/mo	$4,542/mo	25	4.7
One Greenway	$3,538/mo	$4,288/mo	9	4.8
The Victor by Windsor	$3,585/mo	$4,376/mo	18	4.8
The Benjamin Seaport Residences Apartments	$3,613/mo	$5,648/mo	15	4.8
Waterside Place Apartments by Windsor	$3,680/mo	$4,947/mo	21	4.8
The Lofts at Atlantic Wharf	$3,859/mo	$4,866/mo	5	4.9
212 Stuart	$5,721/mo	$7,723/mo	4	4.8
Elevated Boston	$8,572/mo	$11,716/mo	12	4.8

Frequently Asked Questions About Rent in Boston, MA

What is the average rent in Boston, MA?

The average rent in Boston, MA is $4,816 per month as of September 2026, based on 442 units across 29 apartment communities.

Is rent going up or down in Boston, MA?

The current average rent in Boston, MA is $4,816/mo, refreshed daily to track rent trends.

What is the cheapest apartment in Boston, MA?

The most affordable apartment in Boston, MA is Boston Pads with units starting at $1,950/mo.

How much is a 1-bedroom apartment in Boston, MA?

A 1-bedroom apartment in Boston, MA averages $4,178/mo, with prices starting at $1,950/mo across 222 available units.

How many apartments are available in Boston, MA?

There are 442 units available across 29 apartment communities in Boston, MA.

What salary do I need to live comfortably in Boston, MA?

Built on the 25 to 30 percent rent-to-income guideline used by most landlords and credit-scoring models.

Minimum to afford average rent

$193,000/year

Based on the 30 percent rule, using our tracked average rent of $4,816/mo.

Comfortable income

$231,000/year

Based on the 25 percent rule, leaving more room for savings, transport, and groceries.

To afford the cheapest tracked apartment ($1,950/mo), you need to earn at least $78,000/year.

Median household income in Boston, MA is $94,755 , about 59% below the comfortable-living threshold.

Cost of living in Boston, MA

Overall prices in Boston, MA runs above the national average by about 10% (BEA Regional Price Parity index 110.4, where 100 equals the U.S. average). The breakdown below estimates monthly costs for a single adult, using national consumer-spending baselines from the Bureau of Labor Statistics scaled by Boston, MA's regional price parities.

Category	Monthly estimate	Source
Rent (market average)	$4,816	daily refresh
Utilities	$637	BLS × BEA RPP
Groceries	$544	BLS × BEA RPP
Transportation	$1,520	BLS × BEA RPP
Healthcare	$741	BLS × BEA RPP
Other goods and services	$1,186	BLS × BEA RPP
Estimated total	$9,444/mo	$113,334/year

Population

663,972

Median household income

$94,755

Census median rent

$2,093/mo

Census rent burden

30.1%

Median age

33.2

Mean commute

30 min

Methodology

Rent data

Sourced directly from each tracked apartment community and refreshed every 24 hours. Every listed unit price on this page is real and listed today.

Cost of living

Estimates combine national consumer-spending baselines from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Consumer Expenditure Survey) with the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (MARPP dataset). Both are peer-reviewed federal data releases published annually.

Salary to live comfortably

Applies the standard 25 to 30 percent rent-to-income rule on top of the listed rent. This is the same affordability guideline used by most landlords and credit-scoring models.

Demographic figures

Median household income, population, median age, commute time, Census median rent, and rent as percentage of income come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year estimates, the most recent complete release.

Cost of living and demographic figures were last published in 2023.

Massachusetts Rent Trends

Compare rent across all Massachusetts cities

Boston, MA Neighborhood Rent Map

See rent history by neighborhood on a map

Explore Boston, MA on Map

See neighborhoods and rent data interactively

US-wide rent comparison

See how Boston, MA rents stack up against the national median