Washington D.C. comes in as fourth most expensive. New York is shockingly way further back at number 20, but these figures take into consideration the suburban fringes...and some of the "metropolitan areas" seem almost entirely suburban themselves.

Data comes from the American Community Survey, which is gathered by the Census bureau.

5. San Francisco
4. Washington, D.C. (median housing cost: $1,706)
3. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calf. Metropolitan Statistical Area
2. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Ct. Metropolitan Statistical Area
1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. Metropolitan Statistical Area

A Woodley Park Apartment building

Well, Houston's the exception (incidentally the last major city I lived in).

But it's true: That city and the District are the only two major urban centers nationwide where rents are increasing or staying stable, according to Forbes magazine.

I experienced this trend myself last fall when my Columbia Heights rent rose $40 from the previous year's rent. And that was with some negotiating! First, we had to point out to the landlord that the hike she proposed didn't entirely adhere to city policy.Her instincts were correct in asking for more though. Washington has the "second-best apartment rental market in the U.S., with rental income down less than 1percent," according to Forbes.

Here's more from that piece:

Dallas-based Axiometrics' latest survey of 13,000 rental-property managers was unsettling: Rental "revenue per available key" fell 4.1% in the first quarter. Rents in the top 20 U.S. cities are now down 5.7% from a year ago. Phoenix, Atlanta, Las Vegas, New York City and Charlotte all experienced declines greater than 8% from a year ago.

Image by Mr. T in D.C., Flickr Creative Commons