Average time to get a postdoc after finishing PhD? I am starting my final year of my PhD and am starting to look into postdocs. I am interested in how much of a lag I should expect between getting my PhD and starting a postdoc. For context, I'm in the United States in biology. I would ideally like to defend my PhD and move for a new postdoc position within a month but I'm not sure how realistic that is.

The reason I'm asking is that my landlord is expecting me to make a lease commitment and I'm not sure how long to commit to living here. The shorter the lease, the more expensive per month but too long and I have to break my lease early (expensive fines).

For those who have gotten postdocs recently (especially in the US) how long would you recommend expecting it to take if I'm starting looking now (12 month before defending)? Any good rules of thumb?
Just changed from one post doc to another. It took me 3 months to send 100 applications, interview at few places. Ended up with 5 offers and chose 1. The kind of lab you join is extremely important. So don't shortchange yourself by picking a not-so-good lab to save yourself a few hundred dollars. A good lab will ensure a good job after the postdoc. Bad lab (which I chose too) will leave you in a shaky position and you might end up having to do another postdoc. 1 month's time has high potential of getting you in a not-so-good lab (that doesn't mean you won't get a good lab but chances are slim). Give yourself at least 3 months AFTER defense. In that time, apply to lots of places, interview at some and then pick the one that is the best for you. 1 month's time is not enough for defense and postdoc search. Good luck!