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Renters in Greater Boston continue to have to deal with high prices and require some of the highest incomes in the nation to afford to rent in the Massachusetts capital region.

In April of 2025, Redfin reported that the median asking rent was $2,834, a 2.3 percent increase year-over-year. This made Boston-area rents the third highest in the nation among the 50 most populous U.S. metros which Rent. and Redfin have sufficient rental data.

Zillow also reported that Greater Boston has the third-highest required income to afford renting in the city. Renters in Boston need to make $127,007 to afford rent. This represents a 26.8 percent increase since April of 2020.

“Housing costs have surged since pre-pandemic, with rents growing quite a bit faster than wages,” Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, said in a statement. “This often leaves little room for other expenses, making it particularly difficult for those hoping to save for a down payment on a future home. High upfront costs are often overlooked, which can keep renters in their current homes.”

While rental affordability continues to worsen across the nation on a month-to-month basis, year-over-year rents had their biggest decline since February of 2024. The median asking rent in the United States fell 1 percent year-over-year to $1,625 in April 2025.

“Asking rents are sluggish because there are more apartments for rent than people who want to rent them,” Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a statement. “Renter demand is strong, but growth in apartment supply is even stronger because multifamily construction surged in the wake of the pandemic moving frenzy. Permits to build apartments have started to taper off, though, so asking rents could rebound in the coming months.”