Last updated August 9, 2026

Average Rent in Boston, MA & Rent Trends

Rent prices and market trends across 28 apartment communities in Boston, MA. Updated daily.

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

Boston 02199

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

Market Average

$4,669/mo

▼ 4.2% from last month

Lowest Available

$1,000/mo

cheapest unit on market

Communities

tracked daily

Units Listed

420

available now

Price Cuts This Week in Boston, MA

134 listed units across 13 buildings in Boston, MA dropped their asking rent in the past 7 days, an average cut of $189/mo. These are the largest cuts, tracked unit by unit with daily price checks.

Apartment	Unit	Last Week	Now	Cut
Elevated Boston	Unit 6	$9,320	$4,900	$4,420
Flats on D	Unit S614, CC1	$7,556	$6,399	$1,157
Gables Seaport	Unit 1619, B3	$6,695	$6,035	$660
Gables Seaport	Unit 0819, B3	$6,640	$5,984	$656
Gables Seaport	Unit 1916, B1	$5,777	$5,190	$587
Gables Seaport	Unit 1416, B1	$5,727	$5,144	$583
Gables Seaport	Unit 0621, B2	$5,722	$5,140	$582
Gables Seaport	Unit 0521, B2	$5,637	$5,061	$576

See today's prices on all 420 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
Boston 02199	$7,779	▲ $405	$3,935	1	19
West End	$5,118	▲ $309	$3,260	3	53
Chinatown	$4,807	▼ $188	$3,431	2	13
D Street / West Broadway	$4,611	▼ $184	$1,000	14	225
South End	$4,287	▼ $276	$3,713	1	16
Prudential / St. Botolph	$4,099	▼ $11	$1,775	3	68
Brighton	$3,785	-	$3,030	1	11
South Boston	$3,543	▼ $931	$1,300	3	15

Is Rent Going Up or Down in Boston, MA?

As of August 2026, the average rent in Boston, MA is $4,669 per month across 28 apartment communities and 420 available units. Rents have decreased $204 (4.2%) over the past month.

The most affordable option is 381 Congress Lofts starting at $1,000/mo. By unit type, a studio averages $3,557/mo, a 1-bedroom averages $4,300/mo, a 2-bedroom averages $6,012/mo, a 3-bedroom averages $6,839/mo, a 4-bedroom averages $4,408/mo.

Prices range from $1,000 to $13,395 per month. The most common price point is the $3,800 range, where 47 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	$4,625	-$99	28

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

$3,557

from $1,000 · 91 units

1 Bed

$4,300

from $1,000 · 197 units

2 Bed

$6,012

from $1,000 · 83 units

3 Bed

$6,839

from $3,295 · 31 units

4 Bed

$4,408

from $1,000 · 18 units

Rent Prices by Apartment in Boston, MA

Property	Starting at	Average	Units	Rating
381 Congress Lofts	$1,000/mo	$2,856/mo	14	4.5
Elevated Boston	$1,300/mo	$2,800/mo	6	4.8
Boston Pads	$1,775/mo	$3,948/mo	59	4.9
West Square Apartments	$2,735/mo	$3,337/mo	3	3.4
Flats on D	$2,798/mo	$3,992/mo	8	4.4
South Standard	$2,900/mo	$4,390/mo	6	4.9
Avalon Brighton	$3,030/mo	$3,785/mo	11	3.9
VIA Seaport Residences Apartments	$3,123/mo	$4,697/mo	32	4.7
The Metlo	$3,245/mo	$4,781/mo	15	4.6
The Sudbury	$3,260/mo	$5,384/mo	33	4.6
Park Lane Seaport	$3,286/mo	$3,956/mo	5	4.7
Ora Seaport Apartments	$3,292/mo	$4,715/mo	15	4.7
The Alyx	$3,369/mo	$5,105/mo	12	4.7
Watermark Seaport Apartments	$3,387/mo	$3,915/mo	20	4.7
100 Pier 4	$3,431/mo	$4,600/mo	33	3.6
One Greenway	$3,431/mo	$4,464/mo	8	4.8
One Canal Apartment Homes	$3,432/mo	$5,301/mo	6	4.6
The Benjamin Seaport Residences Apartments	$3,521/mo	$5,655/mo	20	4.8
The Kensington	$3,550/mo	$3,913/mo	6	4.9
The Victor by Windsor	$3,660/mo	$4,414/mo	14	4.8
660 Washington Apartments	$3,705/mo	$5,356/mo	5	4.5
Ink Block	$3,713/mo	$4,287/mo	16	4.5
Gables Seaport	$3,756/mo	$4,905/mo	27	4.8
315 on A Apartments	$3,800/mo	$4,386/mo	4	4.4
Waterside Place Apartments by Windsor	$3,845/mo	$4,948/mo	15	4.8
The Lofts at Atlantic Wharf	$3,859/mo	$4,866/mo	5	4.9
Avalon Exeter	$3,935/mo	$7,779/mo	19	4.9
212 Stuart	$5,445/mo	$7,445/mo	3	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 $4,669 per month as of August 2026, based on 420 units across 28 apartment communities.

Is rent going up or down in Boston, MA?

Rent in Boston, MA has decreased $204 (4.2%) over the past month. The current average is $4,669/mo.

What is the cheapest apartment in Boston, MA?

The most affordable apartment in Boston, MA is 381 Congress Lofts with units starting at $1,000/mo.

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

A 1-bedroom apartment in Boston, MA averages $4,300/mo, with prices starting at $1,000/mo across 197 available units.

How many apartments are available in Boston, MA?

There are 420 units available across 28 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

$187,000/year

Based on the 30 percent rule, using our tracked average rent of $4,669/mo.

Comfortable income

$224,000/year

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

To afford the cheapest tracked apartment ($1,000/mo), you need to earn at least $40,000/year.

Median household income in Boston, MA is $94,755 , about 58% 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)	$4,669	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	$9,297/mo	$111,570/year

Population

663,972

Median household income

$94,755

Census median rent

$2,093/mo

Rent as % of income

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