Out-of-Towners Are Driving Up Rental Demand in These Five Cities—as Prices Fall for the 27th Straight Month

The rise of remote work and surging rents in major metros have pushed priced-out residents to search elsewhere for more budget-friendly housing options, fueling out-of-market demand in 20 cities over the last six years. 

In the third quarter of 2025, five metros stood out for having experienced the most drastic shifts in renter makeup: Detroit; Philadelphia; Sacramento, CA; San Francisco; and Charlotte, NC, according to the October 2025 rent report from Realtor.com®.

Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu explains that the common thread among these five otherwise very different markets is that they each offer more affordable rental options than nearby major cities.

For example, while the median asking rent in San Francisco was relatively high, at $2,838, it was nearly 16% lower than in neighboring San Jose, CA—a Silicon Valley tech hub that earned the distinction of registering the priciest rent across the top 50 metros, at $3,370.

As a result, San Jose accounted for 18.4% of online rental traffic within the San Francisco area, up from just 7.5% six years ago.

Meanwhile, the share of rental views from New York City to Philadelphia accounted for more than a quarter of all rental traffic within the City of Brotherly Love—up from 6.7% in 2019.

A direct price comparison between the two East Coast destinations reveals why: In the third quarter, the typical rental in the Big Apple came with an asking price of $2,925 per month, compared with Philadelphia’s $1,743.  

Biggest shifts in demand

Detroit emerged as the top metro with the biggest changes in rental demand from the third quarter of 2019 to the same period in 2025.

In Motor City, the share of traffic from local renters dipped by nearly 25% from 2019, down to 45.1%, as out-of-town traffic soared. 

Aspiring renters from Indianapolis accounted for the most out-of-market views, at 16.9%, followed by Washington, DC (14.8%), and New York City (13.7%).  

Philadelphia’s local rental demand fell by 23.4% over the last six years, even as the residents of more costly metros like New York took notice.

Similarly, Sacramento’s share of local rental demand dropped 18.9% compared with 2019, marking the third-largest decline. But at the same time, residents of expensive San Jose took a significant interest in the city, making up more than a quarter of cross-market demand, followed by pricey Los Angeles. 

For context, Sacramento’s median asking rent in the third quarter was $1,858—more than $1,500 cheaper than in San Jose and nearly $940 below L.A. 

San Francisco saw the fourth-sharpest decline in local rental demand, at 16.2%, with Charlotte, NC, rounding out the top five with a 14.5% decrease over six years.

The southern metro drew the most out-of-market interest from Atlanta and New York City, at 20% and 14.6%, respectively, which should come as little surprise given that the median asking rent in Charlotte is more affordable than in either metro.

In fact, a renter could lease an apartment in Charlotte for nearly half the monthly cost of one in the Big Apple.

Rents continued falling

October marked the 27th consecutive month of year-over-year rent declines, with the typical asking rent shedding $29, or 1.7%, compared with the same period in 2024. 

The median rent across the 50 largest U.S. metros was $1,696 in October, down $9 from September. This marks the third straight month-over-month drop, signaling that the domestic rental market has entered a period of seasonal slowdown, according to Xu.  

Median asking rents fell year over year across all unit sizes—studios through two-bedrooms—with the smallest dwellings seeing the largest drop, at 2.1%.

Strongest local demand vs. out-of-market demand

In the third quarter of this year, New York City notched the highest share of local rental demand, with 74.8% of online traffic coming from within the metro area—a level nearly identical to six years ago. 

"The high share of local demand reflects strong rent-stabilization protections and persistently high home prices, which keep homeownership rates low and encourage residents to remain renters," says Xu. 

So even as the national median rent has been edging down for more than two years, NYC’s median increased 1.3% year over year. 

As a result of these trends, outsiders have been in no rush to rent in NYC, given the city’s elevated rents and high cost of living. 

The same was true for L.A.—a city with a very expensive for-sale housing market and strict rent controls.

Meanwhile, in Chicago the local demand is driven mostly by its sizable population of college graduates, many of whom choose to stay in the city for work after earning their degrees.

"This deep local base contributes to market stability but also makes it more difficult for newcomers to enter the rental market," says Xu.

On the other hand, during the same period covering late summer and early fall, Raleigh, NC, led in out-of-market rental demand, at 69.5% of traffic originating from areas outside the metro.

What's notable about Raleigh is that it has more affordable home prices than many other top metros, contributing to a higher homeownership rate within the city and shrinking the local pool of renters.

At the same time, cities like Raleigh, as well as Richmond, VA, attract transplants moving for job opportunities. In fact, both metros have emerged as top destinations for college graduates seeking affordable living and career growth.