Evidence suggests that at long last, home prices in Portland are starting to level off—but as it turns out, renters aren’t quite so lucky.

Rents in the city have been going up for the past seven months straights, according to new data from Apartment List, an online rental marketplace, and have increased by nearly 6 percent since this same time in 2021.

Sounds expensive—and yet, Portland’s average rents are still more affordable than many of its peer cities. You’ll pay almost twice as much in San Francisco and San Diego, Apartment List says—rent in Portland is more comparable to Phoenix, Charlotte, NC, and Las Vegas.

And while the city’s median rent for a two-bedroom is more than the national average, our rate of growth is significantly less than the 10 percent nationwide increase since September of 2021.

The Portland suburbs are another story though. There rent has skyrocketed in some markets at well past national rates. Here’s a look at where you’ll pay the most in rent in Portland and surrounding suburbs, from least to most. 

8. Gresham: The only city on our list to see a decline in the past month, albeit a slight one of just .1 percent. This is the cheapest place on our list to rent an apartment, but still, it will cost you nearly 10 percent more than at this same time last year.

Median one-bedroom rent: $1,238
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,519
Year-over-year price growth: 9.1 percent

7. Portland: Keep an eye on that comparatively slow rate of growth in the city proper. How much longer will that trend hold? Plenty of inquiring renters would like to know.

Median one-bedroom rent: $1,300
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,518
Year-over-year price growth: 5.9 percent

6. Vancouver, WA: That shiny new waterfront is bringing people in, big time. Rent growth in Vancouver outpaced that in the state of Washington as a whole in the last year.

Median one-bedroom rent: $1,392
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,604
Year-over-year price growth: 9.9 percent

5. Tigard: Less expensive than some of its suburban neighbors but more expensive than Portland proper—bonus easy access to our pick for the top ranked mall in the metro area, too.
 
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,447
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,659
Year-over-year price growth: 14.4 percent
 
4. Beaverton: The Beaverton boom is real. Rents here grew quicker in the last year than anywhere else in the metro area.

Median one-bedroom rent: $1,627
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,889
Year-over-year price growth: 17.3 percent
 
3. Wilsonville: You’ll pay more here than (almost) anywhere else, but you’ll be well-positioned for the commute to Salem or big employers in Washington County, including Nike and Intel.
 
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,660
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,920
Year-over-year price growth: 8.1 percent
 
2. Hillsboro: Another area that has seen a big increase in rent prices in the last year. But there are fewer apartments for rent in Hillsboro than in neighboring Beaverton, making those that are available just that much more expensive, given demand.
 
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,857
Median two-bedroom rent: $2,054
Year-over-year price growth: 11.5 percent
 
1. Lake Oswego: Followers of our real estate coverage know that LO is always at the top of the heap for home prices. Rent, it turns out, is no exception to that rule.
 
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,790
Median two-bedroom rent: $2,110
Year-over-year price growth: 6.2 percent