What Memphis Rents Actually Command in Mid-2026, by Bedroom Count

Before you set a rent, renew a lease, or run the numbers on a purchase, it helps to know what Memphis rentals actually command right now, not what a listing site guessed or what a seller's proforma promised. Here are the current figures, by bedroom count, with the source next to each so you can check us.

Shelby County asking rents, mid-2026

Across the Memphis rental listings we track, current asking rents across Shelby County break down roughly like this:

• Studio: about 1,285 dollars
• One-bedroom: about 1,144 dollars
• Two-bedroom: about 1,196 dollars
• Three-bedroom: about 1,515 dollars
• Four or more bedrooms: about 2,002 dollars

A couple of things jump out. The one and two-bedroom numbers sit close together, which is normal in a market with a lot of small single-family stock competing with apartments. The real step up comes at three and four-plus bedrooms, where single-family homes command a clear premium. If you own three-bedroom houses, that is the sweet spot of Memphis rental demand.

What homes are worth

The Memphis median home value is about 150,448 dollars, down roughly 0.2 percent over the past year, per Zillow. That near-flat number is the story: Memphis has not seen the price swings of Nashville or the coasts. It remains one of the most affordable major markets in the Southeast, which is exactly why it keeps drawing value-focused investors.

Pair those two facts and you can see why the rent-to-price math still works here in a way it does not in pricier metros. A three-bedroom home in the low 100s to 150s renting near 1,500 dollars is a very different return profile than the same rent against a 400,000 dollar house.

Why the neighborhood matters more than the average

Here is the honest caveat. A countywide average is a starting point, not an answer. Rents in Memphis vary sharply block to block. Two three-bedroom homes a few miles apart can differ by hundreds of dollars a month based on school zone, condition, and street-level demand. The average tells you the shape of the market. It does not tell you what your house rents for.

That is why we never quote an owner a rent off a countywide table. We pull comparable homes near the actual address, look at what is leasing and how fast, and build the number from there.

How to use these figures

• Setting a rent: use the bedroom-count numbers as a floor-and-ceiling sanity check, then look at real comps near your address.
• Buying: run the rent against the purchase price, not against the countywide median. Ask for sourced comps before you trust a proforma.
• Renewing: firm, flat rents mean you have room to hold a good tenant rather than chase a few extra dollars and risk a costly vacancy.

Every figure above is sourced, and we would rather show you a smaller honest number than a big one you cannot trace. If you want the real rent picture for a specific Memphis address, our rental calculator is a good first pass, and we are happy to build the sourced version for you.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure here is sourced the same way we run an owner analysis. See how we source our numbers, then look at long-term property management in Memphis and the best Memphis neighborhoods for rentals to put your property in context.

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