Minneapolis Rents Are Going Down

Rents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro are continuing to ease as 2025 comes to a close, offering renters some welcome relief after years of elevated prices.

The Realtor.com® November 2025 Rental Report shows that asking rents are now lower than they were last fall, placing the Twin Cities firmly within the national rental cooldown.

While the trend is positive, affordability remains a concern for many households.

Twin Cities rents slip, easing pressure modestly

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington posted a 0.9% year-over-year decline in median asking rent for 0- to 2-bedroom units in November. That decrease puts the metro solidly in “rent is going down” territory, signaling a market that is slowly rebalancing after the post-pandemic surge.

Lower rents are helping at the margins, particularly for lower-wage households. Two minimum-wage earners in the Twin Cities area would each need to work about 54 hours per week to afford the median rental while keeping housing costs at 30% of income. While still above a standard 40-hour workweek, that requirement is more manageable than in many large metros.

The modest decline suggests softer demand rather than a sharp correction. For renters, that means slightly more negotiating power, but not a dramatic shift in overall affordability. These conditions are evident across Minneapolis, Minnesota and neighboring communities, where rents are easing but remain historically high.

National rents keep falling, reinforcing the slowdown

The Twin Cities’ decline mirrors a broader national trend. Across the 50 largest U.S. metros, the median asking rent fell to $1,693 in November, down 1% from a year earlier. That marked the 28th consecutive month of year-over-year rent declines nationwide.

The easing has been consistent across unit sizes. Studio rents are down 0.4% year over year, while 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units each declined about 1%. Economists note that studios often respond first to changes in demand, so their near-flat performance may indicate stabilizing renter behavior, even as larger units continue to soften.

Even with falling rents, prices remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels. National asking rents are still 17.2% higher than they were in November 2019, underscoring why affordability remains the defining theme of the rental market in 2025. The current cooldown has helped, but it has not erased years of rapid rent growth.

Minimum-wage affordability highlights how uneven conditions remain. Only five of the 50 largest metros allow two minimum-wage earners to afford the median rental without overtime. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is not among them, but it sits closer to balance than many higher-cost or faster-growing markets.

Is renting cheaper than buying in the Twin Cities?

Even as rents fall locally, renting remains cheaper than buying a home on a monthly basis. Nationally, the median rent of $1,693 in November is well below the typical monthly mortgage payment of about $2,040. That difference continues to favor renting for households focused on near-term costs, reflecting the broader rent vs buy comparison shaping housing decisions nationwide.

That gap, however, is narrowing. Lower mortgage rates are improving affordability for buyers, even as rents continue to correct from their pandemic-era surge. “Rent continues to fall in many of the major metros across the United States for a variety of reasons,” says Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com®, pointing to the ongoing adjustment after the dramatic rent increases of 2021 and 2022.

For Twin Cities renters, the decision between renting and buying often comes down to financial readiness and long-term plans. Renting still offers the lower monthly commitment, while improved financing conditions may encourage some households to explore ownership.

For now, the message is clear: in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, rents are going down, offering renters some breathing room as the market continues its gradual reset.

This article was produced with editorial input from Dina Sartore-Bodo and Gabriella Iannetta.