Columbus GA rent growth hit 7.5% over the 12 months through September 2026, putting the median rent at $1,405, while rents fell 0.4% nationally and 0.3% across Georgia (Apartment List, October 2026 report). Flat population did not cause it. A multi-year collapse in new housing permits, plus rising Fort Benning BAH, did.
That is the short answer. The rest of this post is the evidence, the caveats, and what it means for anyone underwriting a rental in Columbus, Muscogee County, or the wider Fort Benning market before year-end.
One correction up front. In our September 8 market-cycle analysis, we projected Columbus rent growth of roughly 2–3% heading into 2027. The new data says we were too conservative on pace. We would rather tell you that than bury it.
Key numbers: Columbus, GA rental market, October 2026
| Metric | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Median rent, Columbus | $1,405/mo | Apartment List, Oct 2026 report (Sept 2026 data) |
| 12-month rent change, Columbus | +7.5% | Apartment List, Oct 2026 report |
| Year-to-date rent change, Columbus (Jan–Sept 2026) | +11.0% (vs. −1.5% same period 2025) | Apartment List, Oct 2026 report |
| 12-month rent change, U.S. / Georgia | −0.4% / −0.3% | Apartment List national, published Sept 29, 2026 |
| Columbus city population, July 1, 2025 | 202,171 (April 2020 base: 206,914) | U.S. Census QuickFacts, V2025 |
| Median sale price, Columbus | $249,735 (+1.9% YoY) | Redfin, Aug 2026 |
| 2026 BAH, E-5 with dependents, Fort Benning MHA | $1,716/mo (+3.1% vs. 2025) | MilPayTools, DoD 2026 rates, effective Jan 1, 2026 |
| Median household income, Columbus | $58,073 (2024 dollars) | Census ACS 2020–2024 via QuickFacts |
Why are Columbus rents rising when national rents are falling?
Columbus rents are rising because new rental supply stopped arriving while demand held steady, which is the opposite of the oversupply that is pulling national rents down.
Nationally, the story of 2025 and 2026 has been too many new apartments. Apartment List's national index shows the median U.S. rent at $1,388 in September 2026, down 0.4% year over year, with its national vacancy index at 7.0% and the median unit taking 34 days to lease, the longest September reading since the index began in 2019 (Apartment List, Sept 29, 2026). CoStar reported the same pattern last fall, with national asking rents posting their steepest October decline in more than 15 years as a "substantial inventory overhang" worked through the system (CoStar, Nov 7, 2025).
The Sun Belt took the worst of that. RealPage's April 2026 review of 100 secondary apartment markets found that rent cuts were "prevalent in the South and West," while the handful of small markets that grew rents above 3% were concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast (RealPage, Apr 20, 2026).
Columbus broke that pattern. Its 12-month rent change of +7.5% compares with −0.3% statewide and −0.4% nationally, and its 11.0% gain through the first nine months of 2026 reverses a 1.5% decline over the same months of 2025 (Apartment List, Oct 2026).
Two caveats belong right next to that number:
- Part of this is a rebound. Columbus rents fell in 2025, so some of the 2026 gain is recovery from a soft base, not a new trend line.
- Small markets are noisy. Apartment List builds its city estimates from Census median rents projected forward with its own same-unit listing data. In a city of about 200,000 people, a few hundred leases can move the index. Treat 7.5% as a direction, not a guarantee.
Even with both caveats, the direction is clear: Columbus is tightening while most of the country is loosening.
Is the Columbus population growing or shrinking?
Columbus's population stopped shrinking in 2024 and was essentially flat in 2025, so rent growth is not being driven by a population boom.
The U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates put Columbus at 202,171 residents on July 1, 2025, down from an April 2020 base of 206,914 (Census QuickFacts). The county series tells the same story year by year. Muscogee County's resident population was 205,164 in 2021, 202,697 in 2022, 202,073 in 2023, 202,072 in 2024, and 202,171 in 2025 (FRED, series GAMUSC0POP, Census estimates, accessed Oct 13, 2026).
Two notes for anyone comparing this with older reports:
- The Census Bureau revises prior years with each new vintage. Our September post cited 201,830 for 2024 from the Vintage 2024 release; the Vintage 2025 release revised 2024 up to 202,072. Always quote the vintage.
- The metro tells a slightly better story. The Columbus, GA-AL metro area (which includes Phenix City and Russell County, AL) was estimated at 324,830 in 2025, up from 323,962 in 2023 (FRED, series CBSPOP, accessed Oct 13, 2026).
Flat population with rising rents means the pressure is coming from the supply side and from household composition, not from a wave of new residents. That matters for underwriting, because a supply-driven rent increase can reverse quickly if builders return.
How much new housing is being built in Columbus?
Very little: Muscogee County's 2023 permit total was the lowest in the 35-year Census record and 2024 was the second-lowest, and that gap is now showing up as rent growth.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey, as compiled in our September 2026 market analysis, Muscogee County authorized:
| Year | New housing units authorized |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,342 |
| 2021 | 675 |
| 2022 | 1,054 |
| 2023 | 266 |
| 2024 | 291 |
The 2020–2022 average was roughly 1,024 units a year. The 2023–2024 average was roughly 279, about 73% lower. New housing typically takes well over a year to move from permit to finished, leasable units, so a permit drought that began in 2023 shows up in the rental market in 2025 and 2026. That timing lines up with the rent turn Apartment List is now measuring.
This is also why we no longer see Columbus as a candidate for the oversupply problem squeezing larger Sun Belt metros. The last significant apartment wave, which included projects like the 226-unit Currents in Uptown and the 340-unit Prose near River Road that we covered in our 2024 rent analysis, has been absorbed, and nothing of similar scale has followed.
A caveat: 2025 permit totals were not available to us in a form we could verify for this post. If 2025 shows a rebound, the supply relief would start arriving in late 2027. We will update this section when we can confirm the figure.
How does Fort Benning BAH affect Columbus rents?
Fort Benning BAH acts as the practical rent ceiling for a large share of Columbus single-family rentals, and that ceiling rose between 2.8% and 6.3% for 2026.
The Department of Defense sets Basic Allowance for Housing by military housing area, rank, and dependency status. For the Fort Benning MHA, the 2026 with-dependents rates, effective January 1, 2026, include (MilPayTools, DoD 2026 BAH tables):
| Pay grade | 2026 BAH (with dependents) | Change vs. 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| E-4 | $1,635 | +2.8% |
| E-5 | $1,716 | +3.1% |
| E-6 | $1,977 | +6.3% |
| E-7 | $2,004 | +5.9% |
| O-2 | $1,974 | +6.3% |
| O-3 | $2,058 | +5.2% |
| O-4 | $2,295 | +4.8% |
Why this matters for investors: according to Choose Columbus, the regional economic development organization, Fort Benning has about 13,500 assigned soldiers, roughly 70% of whom live off post, and an estimated $4.75 billion annual economic impact (Choose Columbus, Mar 23, 2026). Those are promotional figures, not Army-published counts, but even a conservative read makes military households one of the largest and most reliable renter pools in the market.
Military renters do not have to spend their full BAH on rent, and many don't. But BAH shapes what a household is willing to pay. In our survey of 80 military families, 70% said BAH did not comfortably cover rent plus utilities. When BAH rises 5–6% for mid-grade NCOs and officers, the top of the single-family rent band moves with it.
Put the two numbers together. The citywide median rent of $1,405 sits $311 below E-5 with-dependents BAH and $572 below E-6. That headroom helps explain why, in our 2024 rent analysis, 3- and 4-bedroom single-family rents rose while studio and one-bedroom apartment rents fell. The DoD typically publishes next year's rates in mid-December; we will cover 2027 Fort Benning BAH when it posts.
Underwriting a Columbus rental before year-end? Kyle Isaacs will walk through your numbers on a 15-minute call, no pitch. Bring an address or a deal you are weighing; you will leave with a rent range and the three line items most likely to break your pro forma.
What does 7.5% rent growth mean for a Columbus investor's numbers?
At current prices and rents, a median Columbus rental grosses about 6.8% before expenses, which is workable but thin enough that property taxes, management, and vacancy decide whether a deal cash-flows.
Here is the math using the public medians. These are our calculations from the sources cited, not a quote for any specific property.
Gross rent yield. $1,405 median rent × 12 = $16,860 a year. Divided by Redfin's August 2026 median sale price of $249,735 (Redfin), that is a gross yield of about 6.75%. Home prices rose only 1.9% year over year while rents rose 7.5%, so the rent-to-price ratio improved over the past year.
Affordability. $16,860 a year is about 29% of Columbus's median household income of $58,073 (Census ACS 2020–2024). That is right at the 30% affordability line, which tells you the civilian side of the market has limited room for another year like this one. Military households, with BAH, have more.
Property taxes. Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value unless state law provides otherwise (Georgia Department of Revenue, O.C.G.A. 48-5-7). Investment properties do not get the homestead exemption. In 2026, Columbus Consolidated Government advertised a millage rate 2.00% above the rollback rate for Urban Services Districts 1, 5, 6, and 7, and 4.50% above rollback for District 2 (CCG public notice, May 24, 2026). We broke down what that does to a rental's cash flow in our August 2026 property tax post.
A simple stress test. Before you count on 7.5%, run your deal at 0% rent growth for year one and 2–3% after that. If it only works at 7.5%, it does not work.
What could reverse Columbus rent growth?
The biggest risks to Columbus rent growth are a 2025–2026 permit rebound, a change in Fort Benning troop levels or BAH, the city's flat population and affordability ceiling, and a rebound in sale prices.
- New supply. Builders respond to rent growth. If permits climbed in 2025 or climb in 2026, new units would start competing for tenants in late 2027 or 2028. Watch the Census Building Permits Survey and Columbus Council agendas for large multifamily site plans.
- Military force structure. Army restructuring decisions are made in Washington, not Columbus. A cut to training throughput or assigned units at Fort Benning would hit off-post rental demand quickly; a growth decision would do the opposite.
- Affordability ceiling. At 29% of median household income, civilian renters are close to tapped out. Rent growth from here likely depends on military and higher-income households, which narrows the tenant pool for higher-priced units.
- Price recovery. If sale prices rise faster than rents in 2027, today's improving yield goes away. Redfin shows Columbus homes taking a median 34 days to sell in August 2026, up from 22 a year earlier (Redfin), so we do not see that happening in the near term.
None of these is a reason to avoid the market. They are reasons to underwrite conservatively and to buy at a price that works without rent growth.
How should you underwrite a Columbus rental in Q4 2026?
Underwrite Columbus rentals on today's rent, verified against BAH and recent leases, with conservative vacancy and real property-tax numbers; treat any rent growth as upside.
This is the checklist Fifth Principle Properties, a veteran-owned property management company in Columbus, GA, uses when owners and investors ask us to review a deal:
- Rent comps from actual leases, not asking rents. Asking rents in a tightening market run ahead of signed leases. Pull closed-lease comps within a mile and the same bedroom count.
- BAH check. Compare the target rent with E-5 through O-3 with-dependents BAH for the Fort Benning MHA. Single-family homes priced inside the band lease faster.
- PCS-season timing. In our experience, homes listed between mid-April and mid-August lease in about half the time of off-season listings (our military family survey). Model a turnover in November differently from one in June.
- Real taxes. Use the 40% assessment ratio, the correct Urban Services District, and no homestead exemption. Do not use the seller's tax bill if they had a homestead exemption.
- Insurance and reserves. Quote insurance before you offer, and hold 5% of gross rent for capital reserves at minimum.
- Geography. Confirm the property is inside the area you or your manager actually covers. Muscogee, Harris, and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell and Lee counties in Alabama all draw Fort Benning renters, but tax rates, insurance, and commute times differ by county.
- Unit mix for small multifamily. If you are looking at 5–20 unit buildings, see our small multifamily analysis for why that segment has priced differently from single-family this cycle.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average rent in Columbus, GA in 2026?
The median rent in Columbus, GA was $1,405 a month as of Apartment List's October 2026 report, which measures September 2026 data (Apartment List). The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 American Community Survey puts median gross rent at $1,106 (Census QuickFacts). The Census figure is lower because it averages five years and includes long-tenured leases; the Apartment List figure tracks current lease prices.
Are rents going up in Columbus, GA?
Yes. Columbus rents rose 7.5% over the 12 months through September 2026 and 11.0% from January through September 2026, according to Apartment List. Over the same 12 months, rents fell 0.4% nationally and 0.3% across Georgia. Part of the 2026 gain is a rebound from a 1.5% decline over the same months of 2025.
Is Columbus, GA a good place to buy a rental property?
Columbus offers a gross rent yield of roughly 6.8% at median prices ($1,405 median rent against a $249,735 median sale price in August 2026), a stable military renter base tied to Fort Benning, and very little new housing supply since 2023. The risks are a flat population, an affordability ceiling for civilian renters, and dependence on Army decisions. It works best for investors who buy at a price that cash-flows without rent growth.
How much is BAH at Fort Benning in 2026?
2026 BAH with dependents at Fort Benning ranges from $1,635 a month for an E-4 to $2,295 for an O-4, with an E-5 at $1,716 and an O-3 at $2,058. Rates took effect January 1, 2026 (MilPayTools, DoD 2026 BAH tables). Rate protection can keep an individual's rate higher if they stay at the same duty station.
Is the population of Columbus, GA growing?
Columbus's population is roughly flat. The Census Bureau estimated 202,171 residents on July 1, 2025, compared with an April 2020 base of 206,914. The county figure has held near 202,000 since 2022, and the wider Columbus, GA-AL metro grew slightly to 324,830 in 2025 (FRED, CBSPOP).
Why did Columbus rents rise while national rents fell?
The most likely reason is supply. Muscogee County authorized just 266 new housing units in 2023 (the lowest in the 35-year Census permit record) and 291 in 2024, after averaging about 1,024 a year from 2020 to 2022. Nationally, rents are being held down by a large inventory of recently delivered apartments; Columbus has very little new inventory to absorb.
The bottom line
Columbus is one of the few Southern markets posting real rent growth in 2026, and the cause is a supply shortage, not a population boom. That makes the gain real but fragile. Buy on today's rent, check every number against BAH, and let rent growth be the bonus.
If you own or are buying in the Fort Benning market and want a second set of eyes on the numbers, book a 15-minute call with Kyle. No pitch: a rent range, a BAH check, and a straight answer on whether the deal works. For larger properties, see our Columbus multifamily property management page.
About the author
Kyle Isaacs is CEO and Managing Partner of Fifth Principle Properties, a veteran-owned property management company serving military homeowners, renters, and investors around Fort Benning since 2020. A former Special Forces officer (82nd Airborne, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group) and current Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, Kyle writes about the Columbus, GA rental market with data, not adjectives.
Brokerage services provided by Blue Sky Realty, MLS office 764, Georgia brokerage firm #81573. Kyle Isaacs, GA MLS #441363. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general market information, not financial, tax, or legal advice; consult your own advisors before investing.
