- NYC rent growth reached 4.1% annually in March 2026, outpacing the US average of 1.7%.
- Manhattan led boroughs with 6.0% annual rent growth; Staten Island slowed to 1.9%.
- Short-term momentum varied by borough, with the Bronx posting the strongest monthly gain at 0.5%.
- NYC’s rental market continues to outperform national trends, though recent gains are not uniform across all boroughs.
Stable Gains in NYC Rent Growth
Newly released data from Chandan Economics for March 2026 show NYC rent growth continuing to outpace national trends. Rents citywide rose 4.1% year-over-year, with Manhattan claiming the largest annual increase among boroughs at 6.0%. Brooklyn and Queens followed, posting annual growth of 5.2% and 3.6% respectively, while the Bronx accelerated to 3.3% and Staten Island slowed to a 1.9% gain. Nationally, rent growth marked a more modest 1.7% over the same period.
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Diverging Short-Term Momentum
Monthly changes indicate a more mixed picture. Overall, NYC rents edged up 0.2% from February to March, compared to a 0.1% gain nationally. The Bronx experienced the fastest monthly growth at 0.5%, with Manhattan and Brooklyn following at 0.4% and 0.3%. Queens remained nearly flat, while Staten Island rents declined 0.7%. On a three-month annualized basis, NYC’s rent growth stands at 2.5% versus the national average of 0.7%.
Why It Matters
The April 2026 NYC rent growth monitor highlights NYC’s resilience amid national slowing, but recent momentum shows a patchier landscape beneath the surface. That unevenness is showing up across the broader CRE market as well, where strong early-year activity is increasingly running into hesitation tied to macro uncertainty and shifting cost expectations. Manhattan continues to set the pace, while momentum in Brooklyn and the Bronx is gaining. Queens has cooled and Staten Island remains comparatively volatile. Across indicators, NYC rent growth is robust but increasingly selective across boroughs.
