Rental prices for the 46 million Americans who rent their homes are finally reversing, and there’s speculation President Donald Trump’s border security and deportation policies are a driving factor. With over three million illegal aliens either voluntarily leaving the country or deported since President Trump took office according to the Department of Homeland Security, rental homes are freeing up for U.S. citizens across major metro areas.
According to the latest Apartment List National Rent Report released May 27, rental prices are down 1.5 percent nationally compared to one year ago. This is the lowest year over year rent increase since 2017. For comparison, the year over year rent growth in 2022 during the Biden Administration was 17.7 percent.
National median rent prices have fallen by $20 per month compared to May 2025, and prices have fallen a total of $63 per month compared to the peak in 2022. That is over $750 annually in savings for Americans thanks to steps the Trump Administration is taking toward housing affordability.
The report analyzed 56 metropolitan areas and found rent prices have declined year over year in 33 locations. Much of the decline in rental prices has occurred across metropolitan areas in the sunbelt including Texas, Colorado and Arizona.
Texas cities have seen a significant decline in rental prices, with Austin and San Antonio leading the way. Austin has seen a 5.1 percent decline in average monthly rent over the past year, and prices are down a full 20 percent from their peak in 2022. In San Antonio, rental prices are down 4.7 percent year over year.
In Denver, CO, rental prices for apartments are down an average of ten percent since 2022, according to analysis from Housing Forward Colorado.
In Phoenix, another southwestern metropolitan area, rental prices have declined nearly 15.6 percent since 2022.
While new inventory is contributing to the decline in rental prices in major cities, there is strong evidence that deportation of illegal immigrants is also freeing up housing units as well.
In April, analysis conducted by the American Immigration Council asserted that the Trump administration was deporting between 33,000 and 40,000 illegal individuals per month from detention centers back to their home countries.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told the Washington Examiner in mid-June 19 that the Trump Administration has successfully deported close to 900,000 illegal aliens since President Trump took office. DHS also reports that 2.2 million illegal aliens have self-deported back to their home countries since the President took office.
Illegal aliens are being flown out of the country on government-scheduled flights monthly, with deportation flights rising rapidly in May. Close to 300 deportation flights left the country last month, over twice as many as did in President Trump’s first month in office, according to a D.C.-based advocacy group that monitors deportation flights.
Housing affordability is repeatedly a top concern for Americans, with housing affordability ranked as the second most important financial issue after inflation according to an April Gallup survey.
The latest data on rental prices indicates that housing costs are finally on the decline, with rental costs slowing significantly since their peak under the Joe Biden Administration in 2022. With over three million illegal aliens having either self-deported or been deported by the Trump Administration, rental markets in large metropolitan areas, particularly in Texas, Colorado, and Arizona, are falling rapidly.
Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
