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Tysons apartment rents edged down during 2025, but the community still ended the year with some of the highest housing costs in the Washington region.

In December, the median rent was $2,312 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,722 for a two-bedroom unit, according to data reported Dec. 31 by Apartment List. Those rates were 0.1% lower than at the start of the year.

Only Arlington had higher one- and two-bedroom rents among localities in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Rental trends varied across Fairfax County. Annandale recorded the largest increase, rising 5.2% since the beginning of 2025. Its December medians reached $1,951 for one bedroom and $2,226 for two bedrooms.

Herndon rents increased 0.6%, ending at $1,763 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,115 for two bedrooms. Reston saw a 0.1% gain, with medians of $2,138 and $2,264.

Elsewhere, rents declined. Fair Oaks posted the steepest drop at 2.6%, with one-bedroom apartments at $2,106 and two-bedroom units at $2,354. Fairfax fell 2.3% to $1,841 and $2,107, while Centreville declined 1.5% to $1,990 and $2,312.

Despite the mixed movement, every surveyed Fairfax County community remained well above national rental levels.

Rents retreated after summer gains

The D.C. region largely followed a typical seasonal pattern during 2025. Median rents climbed through the summer, sometimes reaching increases of at least 4% from the beginning of the year, before entering a gradual and sustained decline.

By December, the region’s median apartment rent was $2,519, down 1.2% from a year earlier.

Apartment List analysts said national rent growth had appeared poised to turn positive for the first time since mid-2023, but the recovery lost momentum during an unusually sluggish summer.

Virginia’s statewide median nevertheless finished 0.8% higher than at the start of 2025.

Nationally, the December median was $1,356, including $1,191 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,342 for a two-bedroom unit. The overall figure was 0.8% lower than a year earlier.

Arlington remains among the nation’s costliest markets

Apartment List’s ranking of 100 large urban markets does not include Fairfax County, but it placed Arlington fifth for rental costs in December.

Arlington’s overall median was $2,519, with one-bedroom units at $2,372 and two-bedroom apartments at $2,867.

The District ranked 14th, recording an overall median of $2,093. Its one-bedroom median was $2,069, while two-bedroom units reached $2,124.

Four California communities led the national ranking: San Francisco at $3,076, Irvine at $3,053, San Jose at $2,861 and Fremont at $2,720. Cleveland was the least expensive of the 100 markets, with a median rent of $1,004.

In Alexandria, December’s median stood at $1,974 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,425 for a two-bedroom unit.