What is the median rent in Watertown, MA?

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

The median gross rent in Watertown, MA is $2,502 (±$107) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 8,336 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $2,502 (±$107)
Rented homes: 8,336 (±656)
$2,000 or more: 71.5%

How much rent costs in Watertown

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Watertown	Middlesex County	Massachusetts	United States
Less than $500	4.0% (±1.9 points)	6.8%	10.2%	6.3%
$500 to $999	5.0% (±2.0 points)	6.7%	11.7%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	3.4% (±1.5 points)	9.8%	17.7%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	16.1% (±4.4 points)	18.1%	19.9%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	21.4% (±4.1 points)	21.0%	16.7%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	25.2% (±4.1 points)	15.6%	10.5%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	24.9% (±3.9 points)	21.9%	13.3%	6.8%

The most common range is $2,500 to $2,999, paid by 25.2% of renting households.

71.5% of rented homes in Watertown cost $2,000 or more a month.

Watertown against Middlesex County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Watertown	Middlesex County	Massachusetts	United States
Median gross rent	$2,502 (±$107)	$2,201 (±$17)	$1,762 (±$9)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	8,336 (±656)	237,764 (±2,442)	1,006,980 (±6,692)	42,849,984

In Watertown, median gross rent is higher than in Middlesex County ($2,201).

It is also higher than in Massachusetts ($1,762).

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

In Middlesex County, Watertown ranks 11 of 54 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 20 of 333.

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

Median gross rent in places near Watertown

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Watertown
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Watertown	—	$2,502 (±$107)	—
Belmont (community)	1.8 mi	$2,527 (±$105)	Not measurably different
Belmont	1.8 mi	$2,527 (±$105)	Not measurably different
Newton	3.0 mi	$2,370 (±$81)	Not measurably different
Cambridge	3.1 mi	$2,787 (±$48)	Higher
Arlington (community)	3.5 mi	$2,082 (±$76)	Lower
Arlington	3.5 mi	$2,082 (±$76)	Lower
Waltham	3.5 mi	$2,268 (±$79)	Lower
Brookline (community)	3.6 mi	$2,835 (±$82)	Higher

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: Arlington (community), MA ($2,082), Arlington, MA ($2,082), Waltham, MA ($2,268).

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: Cambridge, MA ($2,787), Brookline (community), MA ($2,835).

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

Median gross rent across Middlesex County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
5	Hopkinton	$2,641 (±$361)
6	Concord	$2,631 (±$166)
7	Bedford	$2,622 (±$327)
8	Belmont	$2,527 (±$105)
9	Somerville	$2,517 (±$64)
10	Medford	$2,509 (±$94)
11	Watertown	$2,502 (±$107)
12	Ashland	$2,452 (±$298)
13	Westford	$2,436 (±$422)
14	Wilmington	$2,394 (±$328)
15	Newton	$2,370 (±$81)
16	Sherborn	$2,338 (±$316)
17	Tewksbury	$2,310 (±$200)

Showing 13 of 54 places in Middlesex County, ranked from highest to lowest.

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 Watertown

What is the average rent in Watertown, MA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Watertown is $2,502 (±$107) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

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

71.5% of rented homes in Watertown have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 4.0% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Watertown higher than in Middlesex County?

In Watertown, median gross rent is higher than in Middlesex County ($2,201).

It is also higher than in Massachusetts ($1,762).

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 Watertown city, Massachusetts (place:73405, in state:25).

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.