Tucson Apartment Rents Edge Higher in July but Remain Below Year-Ago Levels
TUCSON, ARIZONA (July 30, 2026) — Tucson apartment rents edged higher in July, continuing a gradual 2026 recovery while remaining below levels recorded one year ago, according to Apartment List’s August 2026 Tucson Rent Report.
The city’s overall median rent now stands at $1,045, reflecting a monthly increase of approximately 0.4%. That was slightly higher than the 0.2% increase recorded nationally during the month.
Despite the recent increase, Tucson rents remain 1.8% below where they were one year ago. The year-over-year decline has narrowed considerably from the 3.9% decrease reported at this time last year, indicating that the local rental market may be stabilizing after a prolonged period of declining rents.
The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Tucson is currently $872, while the median rent for a two-bedroom unit is $1,119.
Across all unit sizes, Tucson’s $1,045 median rent ranks the city as the 98th most expensive among the nation’s 100 largest cities. Tucson rents are approximately 24.7% below the national median of $1,388.
Nationally, the median rent is $1,220 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,374 for a two-bedroom unit.
Tucson’s overall rent levels are comparable to Wichita, Kansas, where the median rent is $1,047, and Detroit, Michigan, where the median is $1,041.
Tucson Rent Growth Outpaces State Average
Although Tucson rents declined 1.8% over the past 12 months, the city performed better than Arizona as a whole. Statewide rents were down 2.9% year-over-year, while rents nationally declined 1.1%.
Tucson rents have increased 2.5% since the beginning of 2026. That represents a significant turnaround from the same period last year, when rents declined 0.2% from January through July.
For the full 2025 calendar year, Tucson rents declined approximately 4%. Rents also fell 2.1% in 2024, following a period of rapid increases earlier in the decade.
Tucson’s strongest recent annual increase occurred in 2021, when rents rose 22.1%. Rents increased 6.7% in 2020, 4.8% in 2022 and 1.2% in 2023.
The more moderate 2.5% increase recorded during the first seven months of 2026 suggests the market is recovering without returning to the dramatic rent escalation experienced during the pandemic-era housing surge.
July Growth Ranks Tucson No. 49 Nationally
Tucson ranked No. 49 for monthly rent growth among the nation’s 100 largest cities.
Apartment List reported Tucson’s July increase at approximately 0.3% to 0.4%, depending on rounding, compared with the national monthly increase of 0.2%.
Similar monthly increases were recorded in New Orleans, where rents rose 0.4%, and San Diego, where rents increased 0.3%.
San Francisco recorded the nation’s largest monthly rent increase at 3.9%, while Las Vegas ranked last among the 100 largest cities after rents declined 1%.
Despite the July increase, Tucson remains one of the country’s most affordable large rental markets. Only two of the 100 largest cities included in the report had lower overall median rents.
San Francisco remained the most expensive large city, with a median rent of $3,714. Toledo, Ohio, had the lowest median rent at $908.
Apartment Vacancy Rate Declines
Tucson’s citywide apartment vacancy rate currently stands at 7.9%, down 0.3 percentage points from the same time last year.
The decline in vacancy, combined with positive year-to-date rent growth, suggests that some of the supply-and-demand imbalance that pressured rents downward during 2024 and 2025 may be easing.
However, the vacancy rate remains high enough to provide renters with options and limit landlords’ ability to impose significant rent increases.
The August report portrays a Tucson apartment market moving toward equilibrium. Rents are beginning to rise again on a monthly and year-to-date basis, but overall pricing remains below year-ago levels and substantially more affordable than the national average.
See the full Tucson, AZ Rent Report | Apartment List here.