The Northeast and West Coast make up most of the top rental markets this summer, as was the case for the top housing markets in 2026.

Providence, Rhode Island, headed Zillow's hottest rental markets list, beating out New York and San Francisco, the company announced in a press release Monday. Hartford, Connecticut, Los Angeles, Boston and San Jose, California, were among the other Northeast and West Coast cities to crack the top 10.

"In Zillow's hottest rental markets, the math is simple: More people want to live there than there are homes to rent, whether for access to amenities, strong job markets or family ties, renters are competing over a limited supply," said Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow, in the release. "The U.S. built more new units in 2024 than any year in the past half-century, but that boom largely bypassed the Northeast and coastal California, which is exactly why rental competition there is so intense."

The analysis highlights markets where rents climb fast, vacancies are low and property managers rarely offer concessions, such as free rent or waived fees. That contrasts Sun Belt cities like Austin, Texas, Tampa, Florida, and Phoenix, where new construction has slowed rent and home-price growth, according to Zillow.

"Markets that missed out on the list aren't necessarily lacking demand; they just did a better job bringing new supply online," Ng said.

Providence ranked fourth in Zillow's hottest housing markets list for 2026, and that competition translates to the rentals. Rents increased 5% year-over-year and just 12.9% of property managers offered concessions, the lowest share in the top 10. The typical rent hit $2,154 a month, and renters need to earn roughly $86,000 a year to afford it, according to Zillow. 

New York usually finds itself on these lists as well, placing third among housing markets. Rents grew 4.5% annually, with the typical rent costing $3,406, nearly $1,500 more than the national average, Zillow found. 

According to StreetEasy, a subsidiary of Zillow, inventory across the five boroughs dropped 7% from a year ago, and the median asking rent rose to $4,120, the highest in StreetEasy history. Inventory has fallen for 26 straight months in Manhattan, the longest streak on record.

"While new construction has been increasing in the outer boroughs in recent years, it hasn't been enough to offset the continuous decline of available rentals in Manhattan," StreetEasy Senior Economist Kenny Lee said in the release. "New York City renters should expect competitive conditions to continue for the foreseeable future as the city continues to dig itself out from decades of underbuilding."