Portland renters pay more for less space
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The average new apartment shrunk in Portland during the past decade to some of the smallest dwellings in the country, according to a new survey from RentCafe.
Why it matters: Even though square footage shrunk, renters of all apartments in Portland are paying more — even accounting for a 39% increase in inflation.
Zoom in: Portland's new apartments slimmed down 47 square feet to 665, while Zillow finds the average apartment rents for $1,810 per month.
- That's $524 more — up 1.5% adjusted for inflation — than 10 years ago, while living in 7% less space.
Zoom out: Portland is bucking the national trend. The typical new apartment in the 100 cities RentCafe looked at grew 13 square feet, or a little over 1%, between 2016 and 2025.
- Floor plans grew the most in the South where Tallahassee, Florida, has the nation's highest average: 1,156 square feet.
- Seattle is the smallest with a 645 average.
Yes, but: Don't go ragging on our northerly neighbors too quickly — Portland sits right above Seattle at 99th on the list.
- Our average square footage of 665 is smaller than some much more densely populated metros, including San Francisco, Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Context: The nation's average apartment sizes have been on the upswing since 2022.