U.S. Apartment Occupancy and Rents Inch Up Again in February

For the first time in two years, U.S. apartment occupancy and rents both posted back-to-back monthly increases, though the upturns were mild.

After consistently logging mild monthly declines throughout the back half of 2025, apartment occupancy inched up in both January and February 2026. U.S. occupancy hit 94.8% in February, after rising 10 basis points (bps) in each of the past two months, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. Even with this recent improvement, however, occupancy remained 10 bps below year-ago levels and was 90 bps under the recent peak from April 2025.

Rents also continued their early-year momentum. After January saw the first increase in effective asking rents in seven months, the U.S. saw prices increase again – mildly – in February. U.S. prices climbed 0.3% over January rates, signaling a shift after a prolonged period of monthly declines. Much like in occupancy, however, recent rent gains were not enough to erase the annual deficit. February rents remained 0.4% below year-earlier rates.

The nation’s South and West region markets continued to see the steepest annual rent cuts, while tech-heavy East and West Coast markets saw renewed strength.

Rent Reductions Continue Across South and West Region Markets

Annual rent declines persisted across the South and West region markets, as operators worked to sustain occupancy amid the elevated supply of the past few years. In fact, the South has now gone nearly three years without annual rent growth, though the depth of cuts has eased somewhat compared to the declines of late 2025.

Supply-heavy markets like Austin, Denver, Phoenix and Charlotte continued to see notable annual rent declines, despite enjoying solid demand fundamentals.

Meanwhile, tourism-driven markets such as Tampa, Nashville and Las Vegas also posted deep rent cuts in the year-ending February. Weakness in these markets often signals consumer pullback in discretionary spending, particularly travel, as a reaction to economic weakness across the U.S.

Tech Hubs Continue to Lead the Nation in Rent Growth

Tech‑centric coastal markets continued to outperform, buoyed by renewed renter demand and the expanding influence of artificial intelligence. San Francisco, San Jose and New York all continued to lead the top 50 U.S. markets for annual rent growth, with increases ranging from 4.5% to 9% in the year-ending February. In fact, these gains were a slight improvement over already strong January results.

Other markets with big rent growth in the past year included Virginia Beach in the South and a handful of Midwest markets: Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Kansas City.