What is the median rent in Bethesda, MD?

Name: Median rent in Bethesda, MD, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Bethesda, MD is $2,469 (±$92) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 9,655 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Bethesda, the median gross rent went from $2,026 in 2015–2019 to $2,469 in 2020–2024 (+21.9%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $2,469 (±$92)
Rented homes: 9,655 (±567)
$2,000 or more: 71.3%
Since 2015–2019: +21.9%

How much rent costs in Bethesda

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Bethesda	Montgomery County	Maryland	United States
Less than $500	1.3% (±0.7 points)	3.0%	5.5%	6.3%
$500 to $999	0.6% (±0.4 points)	3.1%	9.2%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	7.3% (±2.1 points)	9.3%	22.9%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	19.6% (±3.1 points)	31.1%	30.1%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	22.7% (±3.9 points)	26.3%	18.3%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	14.3% (±2.4 points)	12.7%	7.7%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	34.3% (±3.9 points)	14.6%	6.2%	6.8%

The most common range is $3,000 or more, paid by 34.3% of renting households.

71.3% of rented homes in Bethesda cost $2,000 or more a month.

Bethesda against Montgomery County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Bethesda	Montgomery County	Maryland	United States
Median gross rent	$2,469 (±$92)	$2,068 (±$20)	$1,705 (±$8)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	9,655 (±567)	131,161 (±2,450)	739,486 (±6,659)	42,849,984

In Bethesda, median gross rent is higher than in Montgomery County ($2,068).

It is also higher than in Maryland ($1,705).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

In Montgomery County, Bethesda ranks 19 of 53 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 44 of 342.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Bethesda has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$2,026 (±$74)	$2,469 (±$92)	+21.9%	No measurable change after inflation
Households that rent	33.9% (±1.5 points)	36.0% (±1.6 points)	+2.1 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	4.5% (±1.6 points)	5.9% (±1.8 points)	+1.4 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Bethesda

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Bethesda
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Bethesda	—	$2,469 (±$92)	—
Somerset	1.9 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Chevy Chase	1.9 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Friendship Heights Village	2.3 mi	$2,289 (±$133)	Lower
Chevy Chase (community)	2.4 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Brookmont	2.4 mi	$2,878 (±$1,418)	Not measurably different
Chevy Chase Section Five	2.4 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Chevy Chase Village	2.4 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Chevy Chase Section Three	2.4 mi	$3,500 or more	—

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: Friendship Heights Village, MD ($2,289).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Montgomery County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
13	Garrett Park	$3,250 (±$1,792)
14	Hillandale	$3,211 (±$138)
15	Potomac	$2,887 (±$342)
16	Brookmont	$2,878 (±$1,418)
17	Four Corners	$2,554 (±$1,113)
18	Clarksburg	$2,495 (±$214)
19	Bethesda	$2,469 (±$92)
20	North Potomac	$2,413 (±$142)
21	Olney	$2,404 (±$267)
22	Burtonsville	$2,358 (±$161)
23	Burnt Mills	$2,315 (±$537)
24	Martin's Additions	$2,303 (±$669)
25	Friendship Heights Village	$2,289 (±$133)

Showing 13 of 53 places in Montgomery County, ranked from highest to lowest.

Bethesda is a census-designated place: an unincorporated community the Census Bureau draws for statistics, with no municipal government of its own.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Bethesda

What is the average rent in Bethesda, MD?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Bethesda is $2,469 (±$92) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Bethesda?

In Bethesda, the median gross rent went from $2,026 in 2015–2019 to $2,469 in 2020–2024 (+21.9%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

How many rentals in Bethesda cost more than $2,000 a month?

71.3% of rented homes in Bethesda have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 1.3% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Bethesda higher than in Montgomery County?

In Bethesda, median gross rent is higher than in Montgomery County ($2,068).

It is also higher than in Maryland ($1,705).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Bethesda CDP, Maryland (place:07125, in state:24).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.