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Renewing your lease soon? You may have some leverage, or at least better options. Average monthly rental costs may finally be coming back to earth in the Valley after surging at the onset of the pandemic.
Over the last year, the average rent of a one-bedroom property has dropped across the Valley. In fact, all Valley cities have seen a decrease in average rent from February 2025 to February 2026, according to Zumper, a rental listing site that tracks rental market trends nationwide. Zumper uses its own data and data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
This decrease in monthly rent costs is driven, in part, by the increase in rental properties being built across the Valley, in line with the state’s housing goals, according to Zumper spokesperson Crystal Chen. Phoenix added more than 27,000 new rental units last summer, which is forcing “downward pressure on pricing” that is still “unfolding today,” Chen wrote in a statement to Phoenix New Times.
“Arizona’s rental markets are absorbing one of the strongest supply waves in the country,” Chen added. “The depth of Arizona’s supply wave suggests its recovery will lag national norms, but stabilization is beginning to emerge on the edges.”
Some Phoenix suburbs are seeing more drastic drops than others. Here’s how they stack up, from the smallest drop for a one-bedroom apartment to the biggest.
10. Scottsdale
Year-over-year change: -1.20%
Average rent: $1,680
Units available: 130
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scottsdale is still one of the most expensive places to rent in the Valley and hasn’t seen much of a price change in the last year. According to Zumper, its median rent price is 57% higher than the national median.
While prices are dropping, if you’re looking to call Scottsdale home, expect to pay between $1,500 to $3,000 in monthly rent. That’s what 41% of residents shell out.
9. Peoria
Year-over-year change: -1.4%
Average rent: $1,360
Units available: 16
This large Phoenix suburb, which spans more than 176 square miles, is home to nearly 200,000 people, although only 23% of households rent.
8. Tempe
Year-over-year change: -2.2%
Average rent: $1,350
Units available: 120
This bustling East Valley suburb is home to Arizona State University, thus leading many ASU students to scramble to find a cheap place to call home for the semester. Luckily for those students and the more diverse family-friendly neighborhoods in South Tempe, rents are slowly dropping.
According to Zumper, the median rent price for all rental properties in Tempe — $1,827 a month — is 4% lower than the national median.
7. Gilbert
Year-over-year change: -2.5%
Average rent: $1,550 a month
Units available: 26
The average cost of living in Gilbert is 12% higher than the national average. Out of the more than 104,000 housing units in the suburban city, only 26% are rental units.
6. Surprise
Year-over-year change: -3.3%
Average rent: $1,460
Units available: 15
You can often see jets from Luke Air Force Base flying over this far northwest Valley suburb that is dominated by warehouses and single-family homes. Surprise’s population is nearly 168,000 people.
Still, while rents are dropping, renters are few and far between here. Of the city’s nearly 70,000 housing units, only 17% are rental units.
5. Mesa
Year-over-year change: -4%
Average rent: $1,200
Units available: 156
Arizona’s third-largest city also saw a small but encouraging drop in rent prices over the last year. More than 35% of units in this East Valley suburb are rental units, out of nearly 224,000 housing properties.
4. Phoenix
Year-over-year change: -6.3%
Average rent: $1,200
Units available: 767
The fifth-largest city in the U.S. has been put through the wringer in the last six years. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to skyrocketing housing and rental prices during a time of growth for the city. But things appear to be normalizing, as the city has seen rental prices drop slightly over the last year.
The city of nearly 1.7 million people has more than 678,000 housing units, 42% of which are rental units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
3. Goodyear
Year-over-year change: -7.3%
Average rent: $1,390
Units available: 27
Founded by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in the early 1940s, Goodyear has experienced some of the largest rent declines over the last year. Goodyear has more than 48,000 housing units, only nearly a quarter of which are rental units.
2. Chandler
Year-over-year change: -7.8%
Average rent: $1,410
Units available: 32
This affluent East Valley suburb is located between Tempe and Gilbert, but south of Mesa. It’s home to more than 281,000 people and has nearly 115,00 housing units, 37% of which are rental units, according to the Census.
1. Glendale
Year-over-year change: -14.2%
Average rent: $1,030
Units available: 90
Not only has this West Valley city seen the largest decrease in rent over the last year — nearly double that of Chandler, above it on this list — but it’s also the cheapest Phoenix suburb in which to rent a one-bedroom property. More than 258,000 people call Glendale home, and 42% of the city’s 99,000 housing units are rentals.
Despite its lower prices, Glendale consistently has ZIP codes with the highest eviction rates.
