Roommates chasing affordable rent won’t find it in these major US cities, finds SpareRoom's rental index

SpareRoom publishes its quarterly rental index for Q2 2026, which uniquely tracks roommate rents in shared households in 26 major US metros at the sharp end of America's housing affordability crisis. Chicago has seen the highest 3-year rent rise (+10.4%); Sacramento has seen the highest 1-year rent rise (+5.1%); highest roommate rent is New York ($1,515) and San Diego ($1,346)

New York, NY, July 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renters in roommate situations are typically chasing affordability, but they’ll struggle to find it in Chicago where rent has risen 10.4% in three years, or in San Diego where renting an average room just hit a record high of $1,346/month in the second quarter of 2026, making it California’s most expensive city, overtaking Los Angeles.

The chart shows rent trends in Chicago and Austin, the two US metros that have seen the highest three-year rent rise and fall respectively, comparing Q2 2026 with Q2 2023

In Sacramento, rent is increasing 5.1% year-over-year, the highest rise of the 26 metro areas tracked by roommate site SpareRoom.

And in New York, which has the highest rent in the index at $1,515/month, the average roommate’s budget is $240/month lower than the average rent, meaning renters must ‘find’ an additional $2,880 a year to afford to live in NYC.

High demand for rooms in Philadelphia – almost four people are enquiring per room available in the city – has pushed rent to a record high of $914/month. This matches the previous record set in Q2 2024.

But, in the renter affordability stakes, Texas is a clear frontrunner. In Q2, Dallas has seen the biggest drop in rent year over year (-5.5%), while Austin has seen the largest decrease over the past three years (-8.4%). San Antonio offers the cheapest average roommate rent in SpareRoom’s index at $750/month while Houston’s is the second cheapest ($835/month).

Q2 overview:

• Record rent highs: only seen in two US cities in Q2, San Diego ($1,346) and Philadelphia ($914)
• Highest year-over-year rent rise: Sacramento (+5.1%)
• Highest year-over-year rent fall: Dallas (-5.5%)
• Highest three-year rent rise: Chicago (+10.4%) 
• Highest three-year rent fall: Austin (-8.4%)
• Highest monthly rent: New York ($1,515), San Diego ($1,346), Los Angeles ($1,338)
• Lowest monthly rent: San Antonio ($750), Houston ($835), Las Vegas ($857)
• Highest demand (enquiries per room available): Philadelphia (3.8), Chicago (3.6)
• Biggest monthly budget vs rent imbalances: New York ($240), San Diego ($218), Los Angeles ($216)

The table pictured shows average rents in the 26 metro areas most popular with US roommates, in order of their year-over-year rent change. Record-high rents for Q2 2026 have been marked.

The chart shows rent trends in the US metros that have seen rent rise and fall most over the past three years comparing Q2 2026 with Q2 2023, which are Chicago (+10.4%) and Austin (-8.4%).

Matt Hutchinson, director of roommate site SpareRoom, comments: “Renters need help. For years they’ve battled with soaring living costs and rent today is still inflated way above pre-2021 levels, before prices skyrocketed. 

“Roommate situations should offer what the rest of the rental market does not – affordability. But intense demand for the cheapest rooms has pushed roommate rent up too, narrowing the options available. It’s pricing the lowest earners – including young people just starting out in their careers – out of the market altogether. 

“Texas is bucking nationwide trends because new homes are being built. It’s proof that correcting the rental supply-demand imbalance is the most effective way to curb rent rises. 

“But there are other methods that mustn’t be overlooked, like making better use of existing housing stock. Lifting undue restrictions on homeowners in some states who want to rent out spare rooms to nonfamily members would help hugely. Homesharing brings lower-cost rental supply to the market and offers a financial boost to homeowners. While it won’t solve the housing crisis alone, it really helps.”

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Data methodology: Based on asking rents including bills for almost 65,000 room-offered ads placed on SpareRoom in Q2 2026 and Q2 2025. To be included, US metro areas had a minimum of 250 ads for each quarter.

The table shows average rents in the 26 metro areas most popular with US roommates, in order of their year-over-year rent change. Record-high rents for Q2 2026 have been marked.

About SpareRoom

SpareRoom is the #1 roommate finder and every three minutes someone finds a roommate on SpareRoom. SpareRoom is active across the UK and US and has so far helped more than 19 million people fill or find a room.

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