California rent guide

The Cheapest Cities to Rent in California (July 2026)

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

California is one of the country’s priciest rental markets, but where you look matters more than most renters realize. Entry-level rent can swing by hundreds of dollars a month from one city to the next. We track every apartment we can find across the state and rank the cities below by their cheapest available rent, straight from live listings, not estimates.

Right now the most affordable entry point is Sacramento (from $859/mo), while Santa Barbara carries the highest typical rent (around $4,345/mo median). Same state, wildly different math.

Cheapest California cities, ranked

#	City	From	Median	Listings
1	Sacramento	$859	$1,620	86
2	Chico	$875	$1,275	26
3	Fresno	$899	$1,525	69
4	Fontana	$900	$2,060	14
5	Oroville	$955	$989	4
6	Bakersfield	$965	$1,495	41
7	Pasadena	$981	$2,593	25
8	Banning	$995	$1,650	5
9	Stockton	$1,000	$1,475	24
10	Anaheim	$1,000	$2,099	76
11	Placentia	$1,000	$2,337	10
12	Northridge	$1,000	$1,940	4
13	Sherman Oaks	$1,000	$1,995	7
14	Simi Valley	$1,000	$2,559	11
15	American Canyon	$1,044	$2,285	4
16	Santa Rosa	$1,049	$2,125	33
17	Modesto	$1,067	$1,600	24
18	Merced	$1,075	$1,400	16
19	Visalia	$1,075	$1,659	6
20	Los Angeles	$1,077	$2,241	308
21	Bellflower	$1,100	$1,945	12
22	Hemet	$1,105	$1,575	9
23	Lodi	$1,115	$1,708	6
24	Indio	$1,115	$1,728	6
25	Roseville	$1,125	$2,024	26
26	Davis	$1,150	$2,100	27
27	Selma	$1,157	$1,319	3
28	Palmdale	$1,159	$1,520	13
29	Marysville	$1,174	$1,470	3
30	Barstow	$1,195	$1,315	5
31	Riverside	$1,200	$2,062	47
32	Ontario	$1,200	$2,192	22
33	El Monte	$1,200	$2,026	6
34	Hayward	$1,200	$2,100	34
35	Monterey	$1,200	$1,995	3
36	Torrance	$1,200	$2,395	29
37	La Mesa	$1,200	$1,970	6
38	San Francisco	$1,200	$3,000	121
39	Vacaville	$1,222	$2,161	19
40	Citrus Heights	$1,235	$1,599	15
41	Clovis	$1,250	$1,605	19
42	West Sacramento	$1,251	$1,695	7
43	Palm Desert	$1,254	$1,950	13
44	San Diego	$1,275	$2,398	214
45	Lemoore	$1,275	$1,418	4
46	Rancho Cordova	$1,285	$1,557	12
47	Vallejo	$1,295	$1,835	16
48	Woodland	$1,295	$1,595	7
49	Carmichael	$1,295	$1,395	6
50	Oakland	$1,298	$2,392	77
51	Glendale	$1,300	$2,473	36
52	Yuba City	$1,300	$1,375	4
53	Folsom	$1,309	$1,989	19
54	Palm Springs	$1,320	$1,725	14
55	Rocklin	$1,323	$2,000	17
56	Turlock	$1,325	$1,670	7
57	Elk Grove	$1,333	$2,097	12
58	San Jose	$1,339	$2,759	119
59	Long Beach	$1,345	$2,275	44
60	Claremont	$1,355	$1,845	5
61	Lancaster	$1,370	$1,765	22
62	Fremont	$1,393	$2,450	38
63	Richmond	$1,395	$2,058	4
64	Fairfield	$1,399	$1,955	19
65	Corona	$1,400	$2,123	18
66	Perris	$1,400	$1,750	3
67	Auburn	$1,400	$1,732	7
68	El Cajon	$1,400	$1,994	39
69	Escondido	$1,420	$2,150	27
70	Colton	$1,420	$1,720	9
71	Hesperia	$1,425	$2,049	9
72	Victorville	$1,435	$1,652	10
73	Oxnard	$1,437	$2,425	24
74	Pittsburg	$1,445	$2,012	12
75	Redondo Beach	$1,449	$2,395	13
76	Fullerton	$1,450	$2,133	30
77	Pomona	$1,450	$1,833	14
78	Downey	$1,450	$1,800	16
79	Hawthorne	$1,450	$1,975	17
80	San Bernardino	$1,450	$1,700	16
81	Manteca	$1,450	$1,849	12
82	Hanford	$1,458	$1,519	5
83	Burbank	$1,461	$2,106	22
84	Fair Oaks	$1,480	$1,607	8
85	Murrieta	$1,480	$2,167	14
86	Compton	$1,495	$1,795	3
87	Santa Ana	$1,500	$2,313	40
88	Sunnyvale	$1,500	$3,095	45
89	Moreno Valley	$1,500	$2,000	17
90	Antioch	$1,510	$1,911	10
91	Pico Rivera	$1,525	$1,767	4
92	Norwalk	$1,575	$2,047	12
93	Pleasant Hill	$1,595	$2,291	8
94	Stanton	$1,600	$2,208	6
95	Gardena	$1,600	$2,023	8
96	Highland	$1,600	$1,800	5
97	San Luis Obispo	$1,600	$2,200	3
98	Santa Clara	$1,609	$2,928	32
99	Oceanside	$1,609	$2,505	27
100	Fountain Valley	$1,609	$2,320	5
101	Newport Beach	$1,609	$2,595	11
102	Concord	$1,630	$2,014	24
103	National City	$1,650	$1,895	10
104	Lompoc	$1,650	$1,850	7
105	San Leandro	$1,650	$2,173	16
106	Berkeley	$1,659	$2,895	27
107	Martinez	$1,667	$2,115	11
108	Encinitas	$1,675	$2,923	6
109	Rialto	$1,679	$1,910	8
110	Buena Park	$1,695	$2,073	16
111	Covina	$1,695	$1,971	8
112	San Marcos	$1,695	$2,360	14
113	Chula Vista	$1,697	$2,336	40
114	Livermore	$1,699	$2,415	12
115	Garden Grove	$1,700	$2,067	18
116	Rohnert Park	$1,700	$1,995	15
117	Upland	$1,700	$2,099	19
118	Santa Maria	$1,712	$2,123	12
119	San Clemente	$1,750	$2,529	7
120	Azusa	$1,750	$1,981	12
121	Salinas	$1,753	$2,125	14
122	Alameda	$1,755	$2,316	14
123	Inglewood	$1,775	$2,554	19
124	North Hollywood	$1,776	$1,849	3
125	Brea	$1,795	$2,305	12
126	Lake Elsinore	$1,795	$1,886	3
127	Huntington Beach	$1,798	$2,395	37
128	Benicia	$1,799	$2,110	3
129	Redlands	$1,800	$2,073	20
130	Gilroy	$1,806	$2,473	6
131	Woodland Hills	$1,809	$2,380	6
132	San Ramon	$1,816	$2,291	13
133	Madera	$1,824	$1,825	3
134	Lakewood	$1,837	$1,910	3
135	Suisun City	$1,845	$2,083	4
136	Temecula	$1,845	$2,146	9
137	Valley Village	$1,849	$2,017	5
138	Cypress	$1,850	$2,290	8
139	West Covina	$1,850	$2,125	18
140	West Hollywood	$1,850	$2,450	41
141	Culver City	$1,850	$2,712	10
142	Goleta	$1,854	$3,460	9
143	Vista	$1,855	$2,399	25
144	Napa	$1,856	$2,273	12
145	Tracy	$1,870	$2,245	9
146	Emeryville	$1,880	$3,219	9
147	Walnut Creek	$1,893	$2,395	26
148	La Habra	$1,895	$2,335	8
149	Beverly Hills	$1,895	$3,098	14
150	Lafayette	$1,895	$2,250	5
151	Paramount	$1,900	$2,250	3
152	Camarillo	$1,900	$2,400	17
153	Orange	$1,925	$2,453	24
154	Alhambra	$1,925	$2,512	6
155	Lomita	$1,925	$2,600	4
156	Carlsbad	$1,941	$2,944	25
157	Santa Clarita	$1,948	$2,312	22
158	Ventura	$1,949	$2,374	18
159	Montebello	$1,950	$2,173	4
160	San Rafael	$1,950	$2,600	15
161	Westminster	$1,950	$2,272	11
162	El Dorado Hills	$1,963	$2,126	4
163	San Dimas	$1,965	$2,811	3
164	Novato	$1,975	$2,664	8
165	Montclair	$1,985	$2,463	4
166	Tustin	$1,995	$2,221	11
167	Menifee	$1,995	$2,240	5
168	Chino	$2,000	$2,195	4
169	Irvine	$2,000	$2,635	21
170	Rancho Cucamonga	$2,004	$2,326	17
171	Costa Mesa	$2,007	$2,373	22
172	Wildomar	$2,033	$2,162	4
173	Union City	$2,050	$2,570	6
174	Daly City	$2,056	$2,516	6
175	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2,060	$2,335	7
176	Milpitas	$2,061	$3,103	12
177	Chino Hills	$2,065	$2,348	8
178	Mission Viejo	$2,091	$2,485	7
179	Santa Monica	$2,095	$3,026	38
180	San Mateo	$2,095	$3,160	20
181	Monrovia	$2,099	$2,407	8
182	Thousand Oaks	$2,115	$2,734	15
183	Belmont	$2,125	$2,795	13
184	South San Francisco	$2,150	$3,058	7
185	Campbell	$2,150	$2,659	17
186	Pleasanton	$2,161	$2,590	10
187	Newark	$2,174	$2,711	5
188	Santa Cruz	$2,175	$2,995	19
189	Mountain View	$2,195	$3,429	30
190	Paso Robles	$2,200	$2,295	3
191	Valencia	$2,207	$2,433	4
192	Lake Forest	$2,225	$2,554	9
193	Dublin	$2,247	$2,437	11
194	Arcadia	$2,250	$2,655	3
195	Aliso Viejo	$2,295	$2,597	11
196	Redwood City	$2,295	$3,507	11
197	Palo Alto	$2,295	$3,548	8
198	Mill Valley	$2,298	$2,775	4
199	Carson	$2,300	$2,325	3
200	Laguna Hills	$2,315	$2,400	4
201	Duarte	$2,325	$2,450	3
202	Moorpark	$2,350	$2,401	4
203	Petaluma	$2,356	$2,577	7
204	Menlo Park	$2,395	$3,695	7
205	Cupertino	$2,400	$3,360	14
206	Pacifica	$2,406	$2,896	3
207	Brentwood	$2,436	$2,486	3
208	Laguna Niguel	$2,500	$2,714	10
209	Marina Del Rey	$2,647	$2,686	6
210	Burlingame	$2,695	$3,987	6
211	Dana Point	$2,825	$2,894	4
212	Los Gatos	$2,895	$3,568	5
213	Santa Barbara	$2,895	$4,345	3
214	Foster City	$2,908	$3,092	4
215	Morgan Hill	$2,937	$2,984	3
216	Larkspur	$3,323	$3,456	3

How we rank cities

“From” is the single cheapest currently-listed unit in that city; “median” is the midpoint rent across everything we track there, so half of listings are cheaper and half pricier. We only include cities with at least three live listings, and we exclude single rooms and age-restricted (senior) housing so the comparison is apples-to-apples. Figures refresh whenever our listing data does (last updated Jun 9, 2026).

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest city to rent an apartment in California?

Right now it's Sacramento, where rent starts around $859/mo, with Chico close behind. The ranking is rebuilt from live listings, so it shifts as the market moves.

How much cheaper are the most affordable California cities?

A lot. Entry rent in Sacramento (from $859/mo) runs well below the typical $4,345/mo median in Santa Barbara, often hundreds of dollars a month for a comparable place.

Are these rents real listings or estimates?

Real, currently-available listings. We track 3,953 apartments across 341 California cities, rank them by live price, and refresh as the market moves, no models or estimates.

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