Norfolk Rent Report: March 2025
Welcome to the Apartment List March 2025 Rent Report for Norfolk, VA. Currently, the overall median rent in the city stands at $1,473, after rising 1.2% last month. Prices and are now up 2.9% year-over-year. Read on to learn more about what’s been happening in the Norfolk rental market and how it compares to trends throughout the broader Virginia Beach metro area and the nation as a whole.
Norfolk rents are up 1.2% month-over-month and up 2.9% year-over-year
The median rent in Norfolk rose by 1.2% over the course of February, and has now increased by a total of 2.9% over the past 12 months. Norfolk’s rent growth over the past year has has fallen behind the state average (4.0%) but has outpaced the national average (-0.4%).
Norfolk rent growth in 2025 pacing above last year
Two months into the year, rents in Norfolk have risen 1.2%. This is a faster rate of growth compared to what the city was experiencing at this point last year: from January to February 2024 rents had increased 0.5%.
February rent growth in Norfolk ranked #9 among large U.S. cities
Norfolk rents went up 1.2% in the past month, compared to the national rate of 0.3%. Among the nation's 100 largest cities, this ranks #9. Similar monthly rent growth took place in Chesapeake, VA (1.3%) and Cincinnati, OH (1.1%).
Norfolk is the #45 most expensive large city in the U.S., with a median rent of $1,473
Citywide, the median rent currently stands at $1,224 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $1,431 for a 2-bedroom. Across all bedroom sizes (ie, the entire rental market), the median rent is $1,473. That ranks #45 in the nation, among the country's 100 largest cities.
For comparison, the median rent across the nation as a whole is $1,208 for a 1-bedroom, $1,361 for a 2-bedroom, and $1,375 overall. The median rent in Norfolk is 7.2% higher than the national, and is similar to the prices you would find in St. Petersburg, FL ($1,493) and Baltimore, MD ($1,450).
Norfolk rents are 5.3% lower than the metro-wide median
If we expand our view to the wider Virginia Beach metro area, the median rent is $1,556 meaning that the median price in Norfolk ($1,473) is 5.3% lower than the price across the metro as a whole. Metro-wide annual rent growth stands at 2.9%, below the rate of rent growth within just the city.
The table below shows the latest rent stats for 7 cities in the Virginia Beach metro area that are included in our database. Among them, Virginia Beach is currently the most expensive, with a median rent of $1,729. Newport News is the metro’s most affordable city, with a median rent of $1,320. The metro's fastest annual rent growth is occurring in Portsmouth (7.6%) while the slowest is in Newport News (0.3%).
You can also use the map below to explore the latest rent trends in the Virginia Beach metropolitan area.
Methodology
Apartment List is committed to the accuracy and transparency of our rent estimates. We begin with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, capturing apartment transactions over time to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country. Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. For more details, please see the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology.
Data Access
Apartment List publishes monthly rent reports and underlying data for hundreds of cities across the nation, as well as data aggregated for counties, metros, and states. These data are intended to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions. Insights from our data are covered regularly by journalists across the country. To access the data yourself, please visit our Data Downloads Page.
