California rent guide
The Cheapest Studio Apartments in California (June 2026)
Data as of Jun 5, 2026 · 590 studios tracked statewide
A studio is the cheapest way to live alone in California, no roommates, no shared walls, just less square footage. We track 590 of them, starting at $1,000 a month against a statewide median of $2,150. That median runs about $75 a month below the typical one-bedroom ($2,225), so a studio is the move when privacy matters more than space and you’d rather not split rent.
Cheapest studio cities, ranked
Cities with at least three live studios, ranked by the cheapest one listed today. The median column is the honest budget number once that single deal is gone.
| # | City | From | Median studio | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stockton | $1,000 | $1,330 | 5 |
| 2 | Sacramento | $1,150 | $1,617 | 16 |
| 3 | Modesto | $1,175 | $1,566 | 3 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | $1,200 | $1,913 | 113 |
| 5 | Riverside | $1,200 | $1,695 | 5 |
| 6 | Citrus Heights | $1,235 | $1,350 | 3 |
| 7 | Oakland | $1,298 | $2,253 | 38 |
| 8 | Glendale | $1,300 | $2,528 | 7 |
| 9 | Long Beach | $1,345 | $2,008 | 12 |
| 10 | Santa Rosa | $1,410 | $1,946 | 4 |
| 11 | Fullerton | $1,450 | $1,861 | 11 |
| 12 | Torrance | $1,450 | $1,916 | 7 |
| 13 | Pomona | $1,450 | $1,788 | 4 |
| 14 | Hawthorne | $1,450 | $1,475 | 4 |
| 15 | Palm Desert | $1,459 | $1,583 | 3 |
| 16 | Burbank | $1,461 | $1,925 | 9 |
| 17 | San Diego | $1,500 | $2,333 | 54 |
| 18 | Redwood City | $1,500 | $2,554 | 3 |
| 19 | Pico Rivera | $1,525 | $1,595 | 3 |
| 20 | San Francisco | $1,645 | $3,408 | 24 |
| 21 | West Sacramento | $1,695 | $1,767 | 4 |
| 22 | Chula Vista | $1,697 | $2,250 | 5 |
| 23 | Anaheim | $1,700 | $1,899 | 7 |
| 24 | Berkeley | $1,750 | $2,198 | 6 |
| 25 | Santa Ana | $1,775 | $2,296 | 5 |
| 26 | Concord | $1,797 | $1,820 | 3 |
| 27 | Huntington Beach | $1,798 | $2,247 | 3 |
| 28 | Pasadena | $1,850 | $2,639 | 8 |
| 29 | West Hollywood | $1,850 | $2,223 | 12 |
| 30 | Walnut Creek | $1,893 | $2,053 | 5 |
| 31 | Buena Park | $1,895 | $2,195 | 3 |
| 32 | Beverly Hills | $1,895 | $2,623 | 4 |
| 33 | San Jose | $1,895 | $2,295 | 23 |
| 34 | Fairfield | $1,899 | $1,955 | 3 |
| 35 | Camarillo | $1,900 | $2,130 | 4 |
| 36 | Ventura | $1,949 | $2,159 | 3 |
| 37 | Alameda | $1,995 | $2,503 | 4 |
| 38 | Santa Clara | $1,995 | $3,410 | 6 |
| 39 | Fremont | $2,025 | $2,101 | 4 |
| 40 | Daly City | $2,056 | $2,181 | 3 |
| 41 | Santa Monica | $2,095 | $2,730 | 9 |
| 42 | San Mateo | $2,095 | $3,445 | 5 |
| 43 | Orange | $2,098 | $2,465 | 4 |
| 44 | Belmont | $2,125 | $2,685 | 4 |
| 45 | South San Francisco | $2,150 | $2,815 | 3 |
| 46 | Sunnyvale | $2,150 | $2,764 | 4 |
| 47 | Oxnard | $2,175 | $2,273 | 5 |
| 48 | Santa Cruz | $2,175 | $2,444 | 4 |
| 49 | San Marcos | $2,245 | $2,359 | 3 |
| 50 | Irvine | $2,317 | $2,554 | 7 |
| 51 | Monrovia | $2,335 | $2,407 | 4 |
| 52 | Costa Mesa | $2,350 | $2,350 | 3 |
| 53 | Mountain View | $3,413 | $3,637 | 7 |
Studio or one-bedroom?
The gap between a studio and a one-bed is usually a few hundred dollars a month, around $75 at the statewide median. If you work from home or want a real bedroom door, the one-bed often earns its premium. If you’re out most of the day and the rent is what’s keeping you up at night, the studio wins. Either way, sort by price and check the median before you judge a city, one cheap unit doesn’t make a market.
Methodology
We took every studio we currently track in California (590 of them) and grouped them by city. “From” is the cheapest studio listed there today; “median” is the midpoint. A city needs at least three live studios to appear, and rooms and senior housing are excluded. The one-bedroom comparison uses the same live data. Figures update with our listings (last updated Jun 5, 2026).
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