D.C.-area apartment rents have fluctuated since the pandemic’s start, plunging in 2020 and then slowly recovering. While the long-term rent growth is well behind the growth seen nationally, in the last year, rents in D.C. region have accelerated.

The average rent in the D.C. region in July is just 5% higher than it was before the pandemic. Nationally, the 4-year change is 21%, according to Apartment List. Compared to a year ago, average D.C. metropolitan area rents are up 3.5%, while the national average is down 1%.

Rents in the D.C. metro are growing the fastest in the further-out suburbs, where rents are traditionally more affordable. But the gap is closing.

“Leesburg has the fastest growth in the metro, up 9% year over year. In Manassas, it’s up 8%, and in Fairfax County rent is up about 7% year-over-year. So some of the suburban parts of the D.C. metro are actually seeing quite rapid rent growth right now,” said Chris Salviati, a senior housing economist at Apartment List.

Average rents in Ashburn and Centreville are both up 7.3%

Rent might be growing even more rapidly in the D.C. region, if it weren’t for all the new apartments that have been built recently.

“In D.C., there was a really big uptick in new projects pulling permits and breaking ground a couple of years ago in 2022. The number of projects breaking ground has actually mellowed out a little bit but because of that lag in construction time, all of those new projects from a couple of years ago are starting to hit the market now,” Salviati said.

The median rent in the D.C. region is currently $2,174 for a one-bedroom apartment, and at $2,232 for a two-bedroom apartment.

The D.C. area ranks No. 7 for highest rents among metro areas. The apartment vacancy rate metrowide is 6.8%, little change from a year ago.