As rents soar across the U.S. - especially in California and as the cost of living continues to rise - millions of renters are facing an unprecedented struggle just to afford a place to live. SpareRoom, the leading roommate-finding platform, has released findings from its Q3 2025 rental index, which reveals that rents across the West Coast - San Francisco, Los Angeles and in Seattle - have hit record highs.
Key findings include:
- Sacramento has seen the sharpest year-on-year rent jump of the top U.S. metro areas, up 5.5% as more renters are priced out of the Bay Area.
- San Diego rents dipped slightly year-on-year, but are still up 33% over five years to $1,316/month.
- Seattle room rents have climbed 20% in five years, surpassing $1,000 in Q3 2022.
- Los Angeles roommate rents hit a record $1,352/month, up from Q2.
- Houston (+4.4%) and Philadelphia (+2.7%) posted some of the strongest annual rent gains—despite having among the lowest average rents of major metros.
- Philadelphia also leads the East Coast in demand, with 3.4 renters per available room and 2.7% annual rent growth.
“Americans are facing a perfect storm: fewer shared housing options, rising rents, and a housing market that's increasingly out of reach for middle and working-class families,” said Matt Hutchinson, Director, SpareRoom. “Affordable options are urgently needed nationwide, from policy interventions to innovative housing models that address the growing affordability gap.”
Roommate demand
Americans also face fiercer competition for affordable living options as rents continue to rise. In San Francisco, demand for rooms surged 41% year on year. Seattle saw the nation's largest jump in demand, climbing 50%, while Chicago, Tampa and Austin recorded demand growth of 37%, 36% and 31% respectively.
Rising demand for shared living arrangements points to the larger national crisis: housing costs have outpaced wage growth for two decades1. SpareRoom's data shows that even cities not traditionally considered expensive are seeing dramatic demand spikes.
“In some metros, year-on-year rents have fallen or only seen marginal increases, but these don't show the whole picture. If you zoom out and view the rental market over years, not months, rents are still trending upwards. We never see sustained decreases taking rents down to affordable levels. Perhaps the number one issue is demand versus supply in metro areas. There are simply more people searching for somewhere to live than rooms available, and as long as that's the case, rents will keep rising,” added Hutchinson.
The table below shows rents and year-on-year changes across the 22 metro areas with the highest supply in Q3 2025:
| Metropolitan Area | Average monthly room rent Q3 2025 | Average monthly room rent Q3 2024 | YOY change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento, CA | $1,002 | $950 | 5.5 |
| 2 | Houston, TX | $862 | $826 | 4.4 |
| 3 | Philadelphia, MD, NJ, PA | $885 | $862 | 2.7 |
| 4 | Washington D.C., DC, MD, VA, WV | $1,142 | $1,120 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | $1,352 | $1,329 | 1.7 |
| 6 | Seattle, WA | $1,062 | $1,047 | 1.4 |
| 7 | San Francisco Bay Area, CA | $1,320 | $1,305 | 1.2 |
| 8 | Las Vegas, NV | $879 | $870 | 1.0 |
| 9 | New York, NJ, NY | $1,476 | $1,462 | 1.0 |
| 10 | Austin, TX | $920 | $917 | 0.3 |
| 11 | San Diego, CA | $1,316 | $1,318 | -0.2 |
| 12 | Denver, CO | $1,051 | $1,053 | -0.2 |
| 13 | Orlando, FL | $914 | $919 | -0.5 |
| 14 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | $1,162 | $1,175 | -1.1 |
| 15 | Phoenix, AZ | $933 | $944 | -1.2 |
| 16 | Riverside, CA | $1,015 | $1,034 | -1.8 |
| 17 | Miami, FL | $1,318 | $1,343 | -1.9 |
| 18 | Tampa, FL | $952 | $974 | -2.3 |
| 19 | Atlanta, GA | $934 | $967 | -3.4 |
| 20 | Boston, MA, NH | $1,267 | $1,319 | -3.9 |
| 21 | Dallas, TX | $890 | $934 | -4.7 |
| 22 | Chicago, IL, IN, WI | $973 | $1,023 | -4.9 |