Orange County rent guide
The Cheapest Cities to Rent in Orange County (June 2026)
Data as of Jun 4, 2026 · 376 rentals across 31 cities
Orange County is one of California’s pricier 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 county and rank the cities below by their cheapest available rent, straight from live listings — no estimates.
Right now the most affordable entry point is Fullerton (from $1,200/mo), while Lake Forest carries the highest typical rent (around $4,600/mo median).
Cheapest OC cities, ranked
| # | City | From | Median | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fullerton | $1,200 | $2,209 | 30 |
| 2 | Santa Ana | $1,300 | $2,339 | 32 |
| 3 | La Habra | $1,500 | $2,640 | 10 |
| 4 | Stanton | $1,600 | $2,188 | 4 |
| 5 | Buena Park | $1,695 | $2,900 | 21 |
| 6 | Anaheim | $1,700 | $2,300 | 46 |
| 7 | San Clemente | $1,750 | $2,935 | 7 |
| 8 | San Diego | $1,750 | $2,395 | 41 |
| 9 | Yorba Linda | $1,750 | $3,500 | 5 |
| 10 | Garden Grove | $1,750 | $3,200 | 17 |
| 11 | Brea | $1,795 | $2,725 | 4 |
| 12 | Huntington Beach | $1,798 | $2,814 | 22 |
| 13 | Dana Point | $1,800 | $2,894 | 6 |
| 14 | Cypress | $1,850 | $3,500 | 9 |
| 15 | Placentia | $1,850 | $2,395 | 7 |
| 16 | Costa Mesa | $1,950 | $2,983 | 20 |
| 17 | Orange | $2,050 | $2,975 | 18 |
| 18 | Mission Viejo | $2,091 | $4,350 | 8 |
| 19 | Aliso Viejo | $2,295 | $2,653 | 7 |
| 20 | Fountain Valley | $2,299 | $2,381 | 4 |
| 21 | Irvine | $2,322 | $3,465 | 16 |
| 22 | Tustin | $2,331 | $2,595 | 7 |
| 23 | Rancho Santa Margarita | $2,400 | $4,375 | 4 |
| 24 | Lake Forest | $2,465 | $4,600 | 9 |
| 25 | Laguna Niguel | $2,500 | $2,940 | 10 |
| 26 | Newport Beach | $2,555 | $2,595 | 3 |
| 27 | Laguna Woods | $3,300 | $3,305 | 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 4, 2026).
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Browse the cheapest rentals →Budget Leases is a rental tracker and is not affiliated with any listing provider. Prices and availability change frequently — always verify on the original listing.