California rent guide

What Salary You Need to Afford Rent in California (July 2026)

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

You’ve probably heard the rule of thumb: keep rent under 30% of your income. Flip it around and any rent tells you the salary you’d need to hit that mark, just multiply the monthly rent by 40. So we ran that math on the real median rent in every California city we track. Here’s what each one actually asks of your paycheck.

Typical CA rent

$2,249/mo

Income needed (30% rule)

$90,000/yr

That is about

$43/hr

The spread is enormous. Renting at the median in Chico asks for about $51,000 a year; doing the same in Burlingame takes roughly $159,000, a difference of $108,000 in required salary for the same 30%-of-income target. Same state, very different paycheck.

Salary needed by city, lowest first

Ranked by the annual income the city’s median rent requires under the 30% rule. Cities with at least five live listings are included; rooms and senior housing are excluded so it’s standard apartments only.

#	City	Median rent	Income needed	Hourly
1	Chico	$1,275	$51,000	$25
2	Barstow	$1,315	$53,000	$25
3	Merced	$1,400	$56,000	$27
4	Carmichael	$1,395	$56,000	$27
5	Stockton	$1,475	$59,000	$28
6	Bakersfield	$1,495	$60,000	$29
7	Fresno	$1,525	$61,000	$29
8	Palmdale	$1,520	$61,000	$29
9	Hanford	$1,519	$61,000	$29
10	Rancho Cordova	$1,557	$62,000	$30
11	Hemet	$1,575	$63,000	$30
12	Modesto	$1,600	$64,000	$31
13	Citrus Heights	$1,599	$64,000	$31
14	Clovis	$1,605	$64,000	$31
15	Woodland	$1,595	$64,000	$31
16	Fair Oaks	$1,607	$64,000	$31
17	Sacramento	$1,620	$65,000	$31
18	Banning	$1,650	$66,000	$32
19	Visalia	$1,659	$66,000	$32
20	Victorville	$1,652	$66,000	$32
21	Turlock	$1,670	$67,000	$32
22	Lodi	$1,708	$68,000	$33
23	West Sacramento	$1,695	$68,000	$33
24	San Bernardino	$1,700	$68,000	$33
25	Indio	$1,728	$69,000	$33
26	Palm Springs	$1,725	$69,000	$33
27	Auburn	$1,732	$69,000	$33
28	Colton	$1,720	$69,000	$33
29	Lancaster	$1,765	$71,000	$34
30	Downey	$1,800	$72,000	$35
31	Highland	$1,800	$72,000	$35
32	Vallejo	$1,835	$73,000	$35
33	Pomona	$1,833	$73,000	$35
34	Claremont	$1,845	$74,000	$36
35	Manteca	$1,849	$74,000	$36
36	Lompoc	$1,850	$74,000	$36
37	Antioch	$1,911	$76,000	$37
38	National City	$1,895	$76,000	$37
39	Rialto	$1,910	$76,000	$37
40	Bellflower	$1,945	$78,000	$38
41	Palm Desert	$1,950	$78,000	$38
42	Fairfield	$1,955	$78,000	$38
43	La Mesa	$1,970	$79,000	$38
44	Hawthorne	$1,975	$79,000	$38
45	Covina	$1,971	$79,000	$38
46	Azusa	$1,981	$79,000	$38
47	Sherman Oaks	$1,995	$80,000	$38
48	Folsom	$1,989	$80,000	$38
49	Rocklin	$2,000	$80,000	$38
50	El Cajon	$1,994	$80,000	$38
51	Pittsburg	$2,012	$80,000	$38
52	Moreno Valley	$2,000	$80,000	$38
53	Rohnert Park	$1,995	$80,000	$38
54	Roseville	$2,024	$81,000	$39
55	El Monte	$2,026	$81,000	$39
56	Gardena	$2,023	$81,000	$39
57	Concord	$2,014	$81,000	$39
58	Valley Village	$2,017	$81,000	$39
59	Fontana	$2,060	$82,000	$39
60	Riverside	$2,062	$82,000	$39
61	Hesperia	$2,049	$82,000	$39
62	Norwalk	$2,047	$82,000	$39
63	Buena Park	$2,073	$83,000	$40
64	Garden Grove	$2,067	$83,000	$40
65	Redlands	$2,073	$83,000	$40
66	Anaheim	$2,099	$84,000	$40
67	Davis	$2,100	$84,000	$40
68	Hayward	$2,100	$84,000	$40
69	Elk Grove	$2,097	$84,000	$40
70	Burbank	$2,106	$84,000	$40
71	Upland	$2,099	$84,000	$40
72	Santa Rosa	$2,125	$85,000	$41
73	Corona	$2,123	$85,000	$41
74	Fullerton	$2,133	$85,000	$41
75	Martinez	$2,115	$85,000	$41
76	Santa Maria	$2,123	$85,000	$41
77	Salinas	$2,125	$85,000	$41
78	West Covina	$2,125	$85,000	$41
79	Vacaville	$2,161	$86,000	$41
80	Escondido	$2,150	$86,000	$41
81	Temecula	$2,146	$86,000	$41
82	Murrieta	$2,167	$87,000	$42
83	San Leandro	$2,173	$87,000	$42
84	Ontario	$2,192	$88,000	$42
85	Stanton	$2,208	$88,000	$42
86	Tustin	$2,221	$89,000	$43
87	Los Angeles	$2,241	$90,000	$43
88	Tracy	$2,245	$90,000	$43
89	Lafayette	$2,250	$90,000	$43
90	Menifee	$2,240	$90,000	$43
91	Long Beach	$2,275	$91,000	$44
92	Napa	$2,273	$91,000	$44
93	Westminster	$2,272	$91,000	$44
94	Pleasant Hill	$2,291	$92,000	$44
95	Brea	$2,305	$92,000	$44
96	San Ramon	$2,291	$92,000	$44
97	Cypress	$2,290	$92,000	$44
98	Santa Clarita	$2,312	$92,000	$44
99	Placentia	$2,337	$93,000	$45
100	Santa Ana	$2,313	$93,000	$45
101	Fountain Valley	$2,320	$93,000	$45
102	Chula Vista	$2,336	$93,000	$45
103	Alameda	$2,316	$93,000	$45
104	La Habra	$2,335	$93,000	$45
105	Rancho Cucamonga	$2,326	$93,000	$45
106	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2,335	$93,000	$45
107	San Marcos	$2,360	$94,000	$45
108	Chino Hills	$2,348	$94,000	$45
109	Woodland Hills	$2,380	$95,000	$46
110	Ventura	$2,374	$95,000	$46
111	Costa Mesa	$2,373	$95,000	$46
112	Torrance	$2,395	$96,000	$46
113	San Diego	$2,398	$96,000	$46
114	Oakland	$2,392	$96,000	$46
115	Redondo Beach	$2,395	$96,000	$46
116	Huntington Beach	$2,395	$96,000	$46
117	Vista	$2,399	$96,000	$46
118	Walnut Creek	$2,395	$96,000	$46
119	Camarillo	$2,400	$96,000	$46
120	Monrovia	$2,407	$96,000	$46
121	Oxnard	$2,425	$97,000	$47
122	Livermore	$2,415	$97,000	$47
123	Dublin	$2,437	$97,000	$47
124	Fremont	$2,450	$98,000	$47
125	West Hollywood	$2,450	$98,000	$47
126	Orange	$2,453	$98,000	$47
127	Glendale	$2,473	$99,000	$48
128	Gilroy	$2,473	$99,000	$48
129	Mission Viejo	$2,485	$99,000	$48
130	Oceanside	$2,505	$100,000	$48
131	Alhambra	$2,512	$100,000	$48
132	San Clemente	$2,529	$101,000	$49
133	Daly City	$2,516	$101,000	$49
134	Simi Valley	$2,559	$102,000	$49
135	Inglewood	$2,554	$102,000	$49
136	Lake Forest	$2,554	$102,000	$49
137	Union City	$2,570	$103,000	$50
138	Petaluma	$2,577	$103,000	$50
139	Pasadena	$2,593	$104,000	$50
140	Newport Beach	$2,595	$104,000	$50
141	San Rafael	$2,600	$104,000	$50
142	Pleasanton	$2,590	$104,000	$50
143	Aliso Viejo	$2,597	$104,000	$50
144	Irvine	$2,635	$105,000	$50
145	Campbell	$2,659	$106,000	$51
146	Novato	$2,664	$107,000	$51
147	Marina Del Rey	$2,686	$107,000	$51
148	Culver City	$2,712	$108,000	$52
149	Newark	$2,711	$108,000	$52
150	Thousand Oaks	$2,734	$109,000	$52
151	Laguna Niguel	$2,714	$109,000	$52
152	San Jose	$2,759	$110,000	$53
153	Belmont	$2,795	$112,000	$54
154	Berkeley	$2,895	$116,000	$56
155	Santa Clara	$2,928	$117,000	$56
156	Encinitas	$2,923	$117,000	$56
157	Carlsbad	$2,944	$118,000	$57
158	San Francisco	$3,000	$120,000	$58
159	Santa Cruz	$2,995	$120,000	$58
160	Santa Monica	$3,026	$121,000	$58
161	South San Francisco	$3,058	$122,000	$59
162	Sunnyvale	$3,095	$124,000	$60
163	Beverly Hills	$3,098	$124,000	$60
164	Milpitas	$3,103	$124,000	$60
165	San Mateo	$3,160	$126,000	$61
166	Emeryville	$3,219	$129,000	$62
167	Cupertino	$3,360	$134,000	$64
168	Mountain View	$3,429	$137,000	$66
169	Goleta	$3,460	$138,000	$66
170	Redwood City	$3,507	$140,000	$67
171	Palo Alto	$3,548	$142,000	$68
172	Los Gatos	$3,568	$143,000	$69
173	Menlo Park	$3,695	$148,000	$71
174	Burlingame	$3,987	$159,000	$76

How we calculated it

“Median rent” is the midpoint of every standard apartment we currently track in that city, so half are cheaper and half pricier. “Income needed” applies the 30% rule (annual income = monthly rent × 40) and rounds to the nearest $1,000; “hourly” divides that by 2,080 full-time hours. These are budgeting benchmarks, not a qualification standard, many renters spend more than 30%, and landlords often use a 2.5x-3x monthly-rent income test instead. Figures refresh whenever our listing data does (last updated Jun 9, 2026).

Frequently asked questions

What salary do you need to afford an apartment in California?

On the 30% rule, the typical California apartment (median $2,249/mo) needs about $90,000 a year, roughly $43/hour full-time. Where you rent swings it a lot: Chico needs about $51,000, while pricier cities need well over six figures.

What is the 30% rule for rent?

The common guideline is to keep rent at or below 30% of your gross (pre-tax) income. Flipped around, the annual income you "need" is your monthly rent times 40 (rent x 12 / 0.30). A $2,000/mo apartment works out to about $80,000 a year.

Which California city is most affordable on a normal salary?

Of the cities we track, Chico has the lowest income bar, about $51,000/year for its median $1,275/mo rent. The full ranking is in the table above, sorted by the salary required.

Is the 30% rule realistic in California?

For many Californians, no, a large share of renters are "cost-burdened" and spend well over 30% of income on rent, especially in the priciest metros. Treat the numbers here as a budgeting benchmark, not a hard rule, and use the cheaper cities (and our cheapest-first listings) to get closer to it.

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