California rent guide

Average Rent in California by City (July 2026)

Data as of Jun 9, 2026 · 3,953 rentals across 341 cities

A one-bedroom in California rents for about $2,203 a month right now, the median across the 2,114 one-beds we’re tracking, so half go for less and half for more. We use the median on purpose. A handful of $6,000 luxury units drag the “average” upward and tell you nothing about a normal lease; the median is closer to what a real renter actually signs.

Studio

$2,111

typical / mo

1 bed

$2,203

typical / mo

2 bed

$2,477

typical / mo

3 bed

$2,995

typical / mo

Two things that table makes obvious. Going from a one-bed to a two-bed costs roughly $274 more a month statewide, so if a roommate is even a possibility, splitting a two-bedroom usually beats renting a one-bed alone. And studios save less than most people expect: the typical studio runs only about $92 under a one-bedroom, and in plenty of cities the two overlap. When a studio and a one-bed are within a hundred dollars of each other, take the room.

Typical rent by city, lowest first

Sorted by each city’s overall median, so the most affordable markets are up top. Find yours, then check the one-bed and two-bed columns for the size you’re actually after.

#	City	Typical	1 bed	2 bed	Listings
1	Chico	$1,275	$1,250	$1,328	26
2	Barstow	$1,315	$1,305	-	5
3	Carmichael	$1,395	$1,395	-	6
4	Merced	$1,400	$1,300	$1,400	16
5	Stockton	$1,475	$1,403	-	24
6	Bakersfield	$1,495	$1,600	$1,595	41
7	Hanford	$1,519	$1,675	-	5
8	Palmdale	$1,520	$1,473	$1,725	13
9	Fresno	$1,525	$1,515	$1,646	69
10	Rancho Cordova	$1,557	$1,555	-	12
11	Hemet	$1,575	$1,575	-	9
12	Woodland	$1,595	$1,523	-	7
13	Citrus Heights	$1,599	$1,619	-	15
14	Modesto	$1,600	$1,550	$2,035	24
15	Clovis	$1,605	$1,550	$1,973	19
16	Fair Oaks	$1,607	$1,575	-	8
17	Sacramento	$1,620	$1,627	$1,396	86
18	Banning	$1,650	$1,650	-	5
19	Victorville	$1,652	$1,632	$1,895	10
20	Visalia	$1,659	$1,699	-	6
21	Turlock	$1,670	$1,593	-	7
22	West Sacramento	$1,695	-	-	7
23	San Bernardino	$1,700	$1,663	$1,800	16
24	Lodi	$1,708	-	$1,690	6
25	Colton	$1,720	$1,787	-	9
26	Palm Springs	$1,725	$1,750	$1,970	14
27	Indio	$1,728	$1,675	-	6
28	Auburn	$1,732	$1,691	-	7
29	Lancaster	$1,765	$1,625	$2,195	22
30	Downey	$1,800	$1,800	$2,400	16
31	Highland	$1,800	$1,813	-	5
32	Pomona	$1,833	$1,945	$2,300	14
33	Vallejo	$1,835	$1,819	$2,375	16
34	Claremont	$1,845	-	$2,550	5
35	Manteca	$1,849	$1,849	-	12
36	Lompoc	$1,850	$1,834	$1,850	7
37	National City	$1,895	$1,846	-	10
38	Rialto	$1,910	$1,863	$1,958	8
39	Antioch	$1,911	$1,916	$1,911	10
40	Bellflower	$1,945	$1,940	-	12
41	Palm Desert	$1,950	$2,170	$2,295	13
42	Fairfield	$1,955	$1,901	$1,995	19
43	La Mesa	$1,970	$2,045	-	6
44	Covina	$1,971	$1,845	-	8
45	Hawthorne	$1,975	$1,875	$2,095	17
46	Azusa	$1,981	$1,981	-	12
47	Folsom	$1,989	$1,995	-	19
48	El Cajon	$1,994	$1,880	$2,225	39
49	Sherman Oaks	$1,995	$2,148	-	7
50	Rohnert Park	$1,995	$1,995	-	15
51	Rocklin	$2,000	$1,922	$2,265	17
52	Moreno Valley	$2,000	$1,938	$2,299	17
53	Pittsburg	$2,012	$2,030	-	12
54	Concord	$2,014	$1,943	$2,262	24
55	Valley Village	$2,017	-	-	5
56	Gardena	$2,023	$1,800	-	8
57	Roseville	$2,024	$1,990	$2,168	26
58	El Monte	$2,026	$1,950	-	6
59	Norwalk	$2,047	$2,030	$2,300	12
60	Hesperia	$2,049	-	$2,049	9
61	Fontana	$2,060	$2,446	$2,150	14
62	Riverside	$2,062	$2,051	$2,100	47
63	Garden Grove	$2,067	$2,073	$2,240	18
64	Buena Park	$2,073	$1,760	$2,399	16
65	Redlands	$2,073	$2,029	$2,200	20
66	Elk Grove	$2,097	$1,999	$2,198	12
67	Anaheim	$2,099	$2,000	$2,473	76
68	Upland	$2,099	$2,108	$2,154	19
69	Davis	$2,100	$1,982	$2,250	27
70	Hayward	$2,100	$2,082	$2,173	34
71	Burbank	$2,106	$2,298	-	22
72	Martinez	$2,115	$2,088	-	11
73	Corona	$2,123	$2,123	$2,390	18
74	Santa Maria	$2,123	$1,903	$2,700	12
75	Santa Rosa	$2,125	$1,999	$2,383	33
76	Salinas	$2,125	$2,199	-	14
77	West Covina	$2,125	$2,049	$2,650	18
78	Fullerton	$2,133	$2,050	$2,571	30
79	Temecula	$2,146	$2,121	-	9
80	Escondido	$2,150	$2,095	$2,595	27
81	Vacaville	$2,161	$2,194	-	19
82	Murrieta	$2,167	$2,180	-	14
83	San Leandro	$2,173	$2,150	$2,448	16
84	Ontario	$2,192	$2,125	$2,563	22
85	Stanton	$2,208	$2,000	-	6
86	Tustin	$2,221	$2,099	$2,595	11
87	Menifee	$2,240	$2,233	-	5
88	Los Angeles	$2,241	$2,435	$2,949	308
89	Tracy	$2,245	$2,150	$2,367	9
90	Lafayette	$2,250	-	-	5
91	Westminster	$2,272	$2,195	$2,523	11
92	Napa	$2,273	$2,175	$2,724	12
93	Long Beach	$2,275	$2,547	$2,323	44
94	Cypress	$2,290	$2,440	-	8
95	Pleasant Hill	$2,291	$2,272	-	8
96	San Ramon	$2,291	$2,305	-	13
97	Brea	$2,305	$2,240	-	12
98	Santa Clarita	$2,312	$2,276	$2,369	22
99	Santa Ana	$2,313	$2,313	$2,575	40
100	Alameda	$2,316	$1,995	$2,244	14
101	Fountain Valley	$2,320	$2,353	-	5
102	Rancho Cucamonga	$2,326	$2,247	$2,710	17
103	La Habra	$2,335	$2,247	-	8
104	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2,335	$2,335	-	7
105	Chula Vista	$2,336	$2,346	$2,791	40
106	Placentia	$2,337	$2,207	$2,348	10
107	Chino Hills	$2,348	$2,348	-	8
108	San Marcos	$2,360	$2,166	$2,605	14
109	Costa Mesa	$2,373	$2,335	$3,265	22
110	Ventura	$2,374	$2,321	$2,795	18
111	Woodland Hills	$2,380	$2,493	-	6
112	Oakland	$2,392	$2,480	$2,725	77
113	Torrance	$2,395	$2,150	$3,108	29
114	Redondo Beach	$2,395	$2,535	-	13
115	Huntington Beach	$2,395	$2,350	$2,545	37
116	Walnut Creek	$2,395	$2,484	$2,561	26
117	San Diego	$2,398	$2,426	$2,782	214
118	Vista	$2,399	$2,428	$2,625	25
119	Camarillo	$2,400	$2,537	-	17
120	Monrovia	$2,407	$2,226	-	8
121	Livermore	$2,415	$2,415	-	12
122	Oxnard	$2,425	$2,404	$3,295	24
123	Dublin	$2,437	$2,534	-	11
124	Fremont	$2,450	$2,432	$3,130	38
125	West Hollywood	$2,450	$2,375	$3,695	41
126	Orange	$2,453	$2,295	$2,700	24
127	Glendale	$2,473	$2,204	$2,650	36
128	Gilroy	$2,473	$2,223	-	6
129	Mission Viejo	$2,485	$2,315	-	7
130	Oceanside	$2,505	$2,396	$2,800	27
131	Alhambra	$2,512	$2,141	-	6
132	Daly City	$2,516	$2,929	-	6
133	San Clemente	$2,529	$2,529	-	7
134	Inglewood	$2,554	$1,991	$2,540	19
135	Lake Forest	$2,554	$2,562	-	9
136	Simi Valley	$2,559	$2,428	-	11
137	Union City	$2,570	$2,580	-	6
138	Petaluma	$2,577	$2,624	-	7
139	Pleasanton	$2,590	$2,590	-	10
140	Pasadena	$2,593	$2,458	-	25
141	Newport Beach	$2,595	$2,575	-	11
142	Aliso Viejo	$2,597	$2,610	-	11
143	San Rafael	$2,600	$2,450	$2,795	15
144	Irvine	$2,635	$2,693	$3,709	21
145	Campbell	$2,659	$2,500	-	17
146	Novato	$2,664	$2,198	$2,825	8
147	Marina Del Rey	$2,686	-	-	6
148	Newark	$2,711	$2,417	-	5
149	Culver City	$2,712	$2,712	-	10
150	Laguna Niguel	$2,714	$2,677	-	10
151	Thousand Oaks	$2,734	$2,688	$3,450	15
152	San Jose	$2,759	$2,700	$2,800	119
153	Belmont	$2,795	$2,671	$2,895	13
154	Berkeley	$2,895	$3,095	$3,095	27
155	Encinitas	$2,923	$2,923	-	6
156	Santa Clara	$2,928	$2,999	$3,089	32
157	Carlsbad	$2,944	$2,798	$3,200	25
158	Santa Cruz	$2,995	$2,950	$3,601	19
159	San Francisco	$3,000	$4,061	-	121
160	Santa Monica	$3,026	$3,065	$3,920	38
161	South San Francisco	$3,058	$3,421	-	7
162	Sunnyvale	$3,095	$2,856	$2,950	45
163	Beverly Hills	$3,098	$3,125	-	14
164	Milpitas	$3,103	$3,103	$3,293	12
165	San Mateo	$3,160	$3,195	$2,995	20
166	Emeryville	$3,219	$3,038	$3,620	9
167	Cupertino	$3,360	$3,345	$3,577	14
168	Mountain View	$3,429	$3,319	$3,045	30
169	Goleta	$3,460	$3,460	-	9
170	Redwood City	$3,507	$3,546	-	11
171	Palo Alto	$3,548	$2,813	-	8
172	Los Gatos	$3,568	$3,568	-	5
173	Menlo Park	$3,695	$3,825	-	7
174	Burlingame	$3,987	$3,996	-	6

How to read these numbers

“Typical” is the median rent across every unit we track in that city, whatever its size. The per-bedroom columns are the median for that exact floor plan, shown only once a city has at least three of them listed. Otherwise a single odd unit would throw the figure off. We include cities with five or more live listings and leave out single rooms and age-restricted (senior) housing, so you’re comparing standard apartments to standard apartments. Everything refreshes when our listing data does (last updated Jun 9, 2026).

Frequently asked questions

What is the average rent in California?

The median one-bedroom is about $2,203/mo right now; studios run ~$2,111, two-beds ~$2,477, and three-beds ~$2,995. We use the median, not the mean, so a few luxury units do not skew it.

How much more is a 2-bedroom than a 1-bedroom in California?

About $274/mo more statewide. If splitting with a roommate is even a possibility, a two-bedroom usually beats renting a one-bed alone on a per-person basis.

Is a studio much cheaper than a 1-bedroom?

Less than most people expect, roughly $92/mo at the statewide median, and in many cities the two overlap. When a studio and a one-bed are within about $100, the one-bed is usually worth it.

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