Top 5 Most Expensive Apartment Rental Neighborhoods in Boston

It’s no secret rent prices have gotten to be outrageous in some areas of Boston. Between the droves of new residents moving in, the endless flow of new luxury buildings being built, and the super low vacancy rates, it’s a perfect recipe for soaring rent prices.

Many of the areas on the outskirts of town are still semi-affordable, but if you’re looking to live close to the core areas of in Boston, be prepared to pay a premium to do so. You’ll see that this list is comprised of mostly neighborhoods very close to downtown. That being said, there are areas even outside of Boston such as North Brookline and Harvard Square where rent prices are just as high as these 5 neighborhoods in the city.

It’s important to note that these figures purposely exclude large luxury building listings to provide the absolute highest level of accuracy. We really drill down to the smallest landlords and use the widest possible points of data to generate this data. We specifically looked at regular apartments for rent that are not encapsulated in one giant self-ecosystem called a luxury building.  Finding exact vacancy rates or exact rental prices in luxury buildings often is a daunting task. Now take a deep breath, make sure you’re seated, and let’s look at the 5 most expensive neighborhoods in Boston proper.

Back Bay

When we reported on the average rent prices by town back in 2017, Back Bay was the most expensive place in town. It has yet to be dethroned, as it still boasts the highest average rent price for a 3 bedroom apartment at a whopping $4,908, and the second highest average for a 2 bedroom apartment at $3,696. The bottom line, if you want to live in the Bay Back, get ready to open your wallet up and pay.

Think you can save by renting a 1 bedroom in Back Bay? Be prepared to spend on average $2,618 per month. Current real-time availability rates are at 4.48%, so it’s slim pickings in this posh and vibrant part of town. Out of 2,680 apartments (non-luxury buildings) in our database, only 120 are either available or becoming available by 9/1/19. So that signals a very healthy job market and slim pickings for options.

Check out available Back Bay apartments here.

Beacon Hill

Located very close to Back Bay is the beautiful and always trendy Beacon Hill. Full of charming brick brownstones and lined with beautiful cobblestone streets, there’s so much to love about this historic place. Prices for a 3 bedroom apartment in Beacon Hill are fetching an outrageous $4,212 per month on average. For a 2 bedroom, be prepared to pay $2,960 per month to call yourself a resident of Beacon Hill.

Check out all of our Beacon Hill apartments available for rent here.

South End

The South End has become one of the coolest places in town, chock full of great restaurants and artsy culture. If you’re thinking of getting an apartment here, get ready to shell out about $3,358 for a 2 bedroom unit on average. 3 bedroom apartments are getting $3,974 per month on average.

Looking to save by renting a studio? Look somewhere else. South End has the second highest average price per studio apartment at $2005 per month. The only thing harder than paying rent in the South End is finding an available apartment. With 1923 South End apartments in our database, only 75 are available or becoming available in the next 12 months as of today, giving it a 6.88% real-time availability rate.

Northeastern/Symphony

Symphony is situated in a prime location, right next to Northeastern University and within walking distance to some of the best shopping and entertainment in town. Average rent prices for a 3 bedroom apartment in Symphony are getting $4045 per month on average at this moment, and renters are paying $3237 per month on average for a 2 bedroom. Yikes!

Even a 1 bedroom apartment in Symphony is averaging $2,648 per month. The good news is if you can afford an apartment in Symphony, there are plenty becoming available due to it’s close proximity to some of Boston largest colleges and universities. Apartments in close proximity to numerous colleges tend to have a much higher turnover rate as students tend to be very transient and move quite a bit because of both school and future work opportunities. Symphony has a 13.70% availability rate, with 257 apartments slated to become available in the next year out 1,876 total apartments in our database.  Therefore, while it is expensive, if you hunt a little bit longer and harder in this location you can find a better deal if you work diligently on market timing.

Fenway

Fenway is a small neighborhood with big rent prices. This tiny piece of Boston is full of local hotspots and fun things to do, not to mention the boys of summer are always within walking distance. While a ticket at Fenway won’t cost you much, renting an apartment here will. The average rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in Fenway is $2920 per month. A 3 bedroom split between roommates won’t save you much, as the average rent is $3,795 per month. There aren’t a lot of 4 bedroom choices either; so if you happen to see a 4 bedroom with a lower price than 1200 per bedroom; jump on it!

Located next to Boston University and other Fenway area colleges, apartments tend to have a higher turnover in Fenway similar to Symphony. Out of 3079 units in our immense database, there are over 344 that are either currently available or becoming available in the next 12 months. You can see all of these apartments in Fenway here.

Honorable Mentions

While these areas are the most expensive in Boston, there are plenty others both in town and out of town that deserve to be mentioned here. Areas nestled around Boston University, Longwood, Davis Square, North Brookline, and Harvard Square are all fetching enormous rent prices at the moment. Even inside the city, Downtown, West End, North End, and Bay Village are all getting similar rent prices as those listed above.

Here’s a chart that breaks down rent prices and availability at the present moment: