According to data presented by the Otodom portal, the average cost of renting in provincial cities in our country was 3.5 thousand PLN in March 2026. That is almost the same as the lowest national rate, which in 2026 remains at about 3,605 PLN net. Someone might say shock, who can afford it? And that’s not all. There are places where it is significantly more expensive. An example is Warsaw, where the average cost of renting an apartment is 4.8 thousand PLN per month. Of course, this is the capital, where wages are much higher than in the rest of the country, so in practice it may turn out that paying such an amount for rent may not be as “devastating” for people living in the capital city as it is in Olsztyn, Opole, or Kielce, where salaries are much lower, and rental prices have jumped up.
Rising in Olsztyn, cheaper in Rzeszów
In most provincial cities in March 2026 the cost of renting an apartment fell, on average by about 1%, with a few exceptions. The largest drop in prices occurred in Rzeszów and Kraków, where rent in March was lower by 8% and 5% respectively. There were also places where the rental price increased significantly. The biggest increase was in Olsztyn, where the jump was as much as 9%. In Opole it was 5% higher. An interesting situation also occurred in Kielce, which remains the cheapest city for renting an apartment. The price increase in the capital of the Świętokrzyskie region was 2.4% to 2.1 thousand PLN per month. This is an interesting situation considering that the capital of the Świętokrzyskie province is one of those where you earn the least in the country. In March 2026 the average earnings in the enterprise sector in Kielce were 7.57 thousand PLN, which is the worst result among provincial cities. For comparison, in the previously mentioned Warsaw, in the same period monthly earnings in companies averaged 11.2 thousand PLN.
“In March the correction of offer rates covered six of the seven largest cities in Poland – Katowice, Kraków, Poznań, Tricity, Warsaw, and Wrocław. The exception was Łódź, where rents remained at a constant level of 2.3 thousand PLN. Looking beyond the largest “seven”, the most interesting situation is in Kielce. Although with an amount of 2.1 thousand PLN the city remains the cheapest market in the Otodom comparison, it is there that the highest dynamics of changes were recorded. In monthly terms, prices rose by 2.4%, going against the downward trend visible in the main centers” – Paweł Jarząbek emphasized in a statement published by Otodom.
In most cities cheaper
In most provincial capitals in Poland, rent in March had to be paid less than in February, on average by 1%. The most expensive city remains the mentioned Warsaw, with an average rent of 4.8 thousand PLN. Data presented by the Otodom portal indicate that this is about 1.7 thousand PLN more than, for example, in Tricity, where the average monthly rent hovers around 3.1 thousand PLN.
More and more apartments for rent
In March the pool of apartments available for rent in Polish cities increased. According to Otodom, by the end of the previous month the service had 25.4 thousand apartments for rent, which is 4% more than in February, and also more than in January, where a total of 1.8 thousand fewer apartments were available for rent.
In March, compared to February, the highest increases were recorded in Olsztyn at 18%, in Rzeszów at 14% and in Bydgoszcz at 13%. The increase in the number of listings was also visible in: Katowice (+7%), Wrocław (+6%), Warsaw (+5%) and Poznań (+3%).
Decreases in offers were recorded only in Tricity at 10% and Kraków at 2%.
“In March the growth dynamics were similar to those in February, although lower than in January. The number of new offers was 16.8 thousand, which confirms the sustained high activity on the part of landlords. One of the possible reasons for this trend is planned regulatory changes, mainly in the short-term rental segment. Wanting to get ahead of them before they come into force, some apartment owners may already be directing their units to long-term rent. This increases the choice for tenants and explains why the listing base is growing, even though apartments are still quickly disappearing from the market” – says Paweł Jarząbek, quoted in the Otodom statement.
See also: Over 4 thousand houses of 70 square meters in a year. Poles are increasingly choosing such investments
