Skip to main content

Want more space than your 1-bedroom DC apartment? That won’t be cheap

apartment in Denver
In D.C., the jump to a two-bedroom apartment will cost you about 33.3% more. In Denver, the difference is 31.9%, (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Many apartment renters who were happy with their cozy one-bedroom apartments may feel differently in the new pandemic work-from-home lifestyle, but the difference in average cost between a one-bedroom and a comparable two-bedroom varies significantly by city.

For D.C.-area renters, the upgrade would mean an average of 33.3% more in monthly rent, according to MagnifyMoney.

That ranks the D.C. metro No. 9 among the top 100 metros for the biggest cost differences between one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The current average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Washington, D.C. area is $2,160 a month. An upgrade to an average two-bedroom apartment bumps that average monthly rent payment up to $2,880, or a difference of $720 a month.

In dollar amounts, the cost of moving up in the San Francisco metro tops the list, with an average difference of $1,010 a month. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is $4,210, though the percentage change, at 31.6%, is lower than in D.C.

On a percentage basis, the biggest move up jump is in St. Louis, where the average one-bedroom apartment rents for $910 a month and the average two-bedroom apartment is $1,280 a month, or a 40.7% increase in the monthly rent payment.

Memphis is at the bottom of the move-up cost list, with just a 6% difference between the average one-bedroom rent of $830 a month and the average two-bedroom at $880 a month.

MagnifyMoney notes average one-bedroom rents nationwide in July were down from a year ago in 35 of the 100 largest metros, and average two-bedroom rents were down year-over-year in 25 metros.

Average one-bedroom rents in the D.C. are down 2.7% from a year ago, although the average two-bedroom rents in the Washington region are up 4% from a year ago.

Here’s the difference in one-bedroom rents and two-bedroom rents, on average, in the 100 largest metros, courtesy of MagnifyMoney:

America 250: Habitat for Humanity celebrates 50 years

Habitat for Humanity celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Since 1976, it has helped more than 65 million people around the world find safe, affordable homes. “We bring together people to build homes, communities, and hope,” said Adrienne Goolsby, senior vice president of U.S. and Canada at Habitat for Humanity International.
Read Next Story