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Between 2019 and today, Greater Hartford has seen a sizable uptick in the number of renters who’ve moved there from out of town.

Analysis recently published by Realtor.com economists shows the share of local renters in the market fell from 48.9 percent in the third quarter of 2019 to 32.2 percent in the third quarter of 2025.

By comparison, the share of local renters in Greater Boston decreased from 53.1 percent in the third quarter of 2019 to 52.7 percent in the third quarter of 2025.

Over the past six years, 20 of the nation’s 50 largest metros have seen rental demand shift from being dominated by local renters to a greater share of out-of-market interest, the researchers said.

“Rent trends have moderated throughout 2025, reflecting a rental market that continues to cool,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “At the same time, shifting affordability across regions is reshaping renter behavior, with a growing share of demand coming from outside local markets. Data show that more renters are willing to look farther afield, in some cases to entirely new markets, for homes that better align with their budgets.”

The Boston area saw rents trundle downwards by 1.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarters thanks on part to a big wave of new construction. But in the Hartford area, rents increased by 2.2 percent over the same period.

“As some renters take advantage of easing prices to move to more affordable areas, others are staying put in higher-cost metros where rent protections and elevated home prices make relocation harder,” Jiayi Xu, and economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “These varied patterns show how affordability continues to drive differences in local rental dynamics, even as national rent trends cool.”

Nationally, rents fell across all unit sizes in October. Median asking rents dropped 2.1 percent year over year), one-bedrooms fell 1.9 percent, and two-bedrooms fell 1.7 percent. Additionally, prices have continued to decline for over two years. Studio apartment rents have declined for 26 straight months, while one and two-bedroom apartments have been on the decline for 29 months.