@eris so after looking into this a bit a) this is median b) this includes all rentals (including houses) c) Houston (where i am) actually has a slightly higher median rent than portland (but nowhere near LA.

c) is particularly perplexing since there's really no shortage at all of apartments in the like $800-$1200 range here, probably brought up by expensive rental homes in the near-suburbs (assuming these figures are for metro area rather than city limits).