California rent guide

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

Data as of Jun 6, 2026 · 3,508 rentals across 298 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

$2,250/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 $53,000 a year; doing the same in Burlingame takes roughly $160,000, a difference of $107,000 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	$1,313	$53,000	$25
2	Barstow	$1,315	$53,000	$25
3	Merced	$1,400	$56,000	$27
4	Stockton	$1,403	$56,000	$27
5	Bakersfield	$1,490	$60,000	$29
6	Fresno	$1,521	$61,000	$29
7	Palmdale	$1,528	$61,000	$29
8	Hanford	$1,519	$61,000	$29
9	Rancho Cordova	$1,557	$62,000	$30
10	Hemet	$1,575	$63,000	$30
11	Clovis	$1,600	$64,000	$31
12	Modesto	$1,600	$64,000	$31
13	Citrus Heights	$1,599	$64,000	$31
14	Woodland	$1,595	$64,000	$31
15	Fair Oaks	$1,607	$64,000	$31
16	Sacramento	$1,641	$66,000	$32
17	Turlock	$1,670	$67,000	$32
18	Victorville	$1,670	$67,000	$32
19	Visalia	$1,699	$68,000	$33
20	Lodi	$1,708	$68,000	$33
21	West Sacramento	$1,695	$68,000	$33
22	Auburn	$1,691	$68,000	$33
23	San Bernardino	$1,700	$68,000	$33
24	Indio	$1,728	$69,000	$33
25	Palm Springs	$1,725	$69,000	$33
26	Antioch	$1,742	$70,000	$34
27	Colton	$1,750	$70,000	$34
28	Lancaster	$1,780	$71,000	$34
29	Downey	$1,800	$72,000	$35
30	Highland	$1,800	$72,000	$35
31	Pomona	$1,833	$73,000	$35
32	Vallejo	$1,850	$74,000	$36
33	Claremont	$1,845	$74,000	$36
34	Manteca	$1,849	$74,000	$36
35	Lompoc	$1,850	$74,000	$36
36	Covina	$1,845	$74,000	$36
37	National City	$1,895	$76,000	$37
38	Bellflower	$1,920	$77,000	$37
39	Fairfield	$1,955	$78,000	$38
40	Rialto	$1,945	$78,000	$38
41	Hawthorne	$1,975	$79,000	$38
42	Azusa	$1,981	$79,000	$38
43	Folsom	$1,989	$80,000	$38
44	Pittsburg	$2,012	$80,000	$38
45	Moreno Valley	$2,000	$80,000	$38
46	Rocklin	$2,000	$80,000	$38
47	El Cajon	$1,997	$80,000	$38
48	Roseville	$2,024	$81,000	$39
49	Gardena	$2,023	$81,000	$39
50	Concord	$2,014	$81,000	$39
51	Fullerton	$2,043	$82,000	$39
52	Riverside	$2,062	$82,000	$39
53	Hesperia	$2,049	$82,000	$39
54	Palm Desert	$2,060	$82,000	$39
55	Norwalk	$2,047	$82,000	$39
56	Buena Park	$2,045	$82,000	$39
57	La Mesa	$2,045	$82,000	$39
58	Garden Grove	$2,073	$83,000	$40
59	Redlands	$2,073	$83,000	$40
60	Anaheim	$2,095	$84,000	$40
61	Davis	$2,100	$84,000	$40
62	Burbank	$2,106	$84,000	$40
63	Rohnert Park	$2,107	$84,000	$40
64	Upland	$2,099	$84,000	$40
65	Santa Rosa	$2,125	$85,000	$41
66	Hayward	$2,115	$85,000	$41
67	Elk Grove	$2,124	$85,000	$41
68	Santa Maria	$2,123	$85,000	$41
69	Salinas	$2,125	$85,000	$41
70	West Covina	$2,130	$85,000	$41
71	Martinez	$2,131	$85,000	$41
72	Corona	$2,146	$86,000	$41
73	Escondido	$2,148	$86,000	$41
74	Fontana	$2,150	$86,000	$41
75	San Leandro	$2,150	$86,000	$41
76	Temecula	$2,146	$86,000	$41
77	Murrieta	$2,180	$87,000	$42
78	Stanton	$2,208	$88,000	$42
79	Long Beach	$2,250	$90,000	$43
80	Los Angeles	$2,252	$90,000	$43
81	Ontario	$2,240	$90,000	$43
82	Vacaville	$2,255	$90,000	$43
83	Brea	$2,240	$90,000	$43
84	Tracy	$2,245	$90,000	$43
85	Napa	$2,273	$91,000	$44
86	Westminster	$2,272	$91,000	$44
87	Santa Ana	$2,298	$92,000	$44
88	Pleasant Hill	$2,291	$92,000	$44
89	Cypress	$2,290	$92,000	$44
90	Tustin	$2,305	$92,000	$44
91	Alameda	$2,316	$93,000	$45
92	Santa Clarita	$2,313	$93,000	$45
93	Daly City	$2,313	$93,000	$45
94	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2,335	$93,000	$45
95	San Marcos	$2,359	$94,000	$45
96	Chula Vista	$2,346	$94,000	$45
97	Costa Mesa	$2,350	$94,000	$45
98	Chino Hills	$2,355	$94,000	$45
99	La Habra	$2,375	$95,000	$46
100	San Diego	$2,398	$96,000	$46
101	Torrance	$2,395	$96,000	$46
102	Oakland	$2,412	$96,000	$46
103	Huntington Beach	$2,404	$96,000	$46
104	San Ramon	$2,398	$96,000	$46
105	Vista	$2,400	$96,000	$46
106	Camarillo	$2,400	$96,000	$46
107	Rancho Cucamonga	$2,410	$96,000	$46
108	Placentia	$2,410	$96,000	$46
109	Monrovia	$2,407	$96,000	$46
110	Oxnard	$2,430	$97,000	$47
111	Mission Viejo	$2,433	$97,000	$47
112	Lake Forest	$2,432	$97,000	$47
113	Fremont	$2,449	$98,000	$47
114	Livermore	$2,445	$98,000	$47
115	West Hollywood	$2,450	$98,000	$47
116	Ventura	$2,440	$98,000	$47
117	Gilroy	$2,473	$99,000	$48
118	Walnut Creek	$2,479	$99,000	$48
119	Dublin	$2,487	$99,000	$48
120	Orange	$2,504	$100,000	$48
121	Alhambra	$2,512	$100,000	$48
122	Pleasanton	$2,495	$100,000	$48
123	Glendale	$2,528	$101,000	$49
124	Redondo Beach	$2,535	$101,000	$49
125	Oceanside	$2,518	$101,000	$49
126	Inglewood	$2,554	$102,000	$49
127	Simi Valley	$2,561	$102,000	$49
128	Petaluma	$2,556	$102,000	$49
129	Union City	$2,580	$103,000	$50
130	San Clemente	$2,604	$104,000	$50
131	San Rafael	$2,600	$104,000	$50
132	Newport Beach	$2,595	$104,000	$50
133	Aliso Viejo	$2,597	$104,000	$50
134	Pasadena	$2,617	$105,000	$50
135	Novato	$2,627	$105,000	$50
136	Irvine	$2,666	$107,000	$51
137	San Jose	$2,700	$108,000	$52
138	Newark	$2,711	$108,000	$52
139	Laguna Niguel	$2,751	$110,000	$53
140	Belmont	$2,769	$111,000	$53
141	Campbell	$2,785	$111,000	$53
142	Culver City	$2,820	$113,000	$54
143	Thousand Oaks	$2,820	$113,000	$54
144	Sunnyvale	$2,856	$114,000	$55
145	Berkeley	$2,895	$116,000	$56
146	Santa Cruz	$2,950	$118,000	$57
147	Carlsbad	$2,943	$118,000	$57
148	Santa Clara	$2,941	$118,000	$57
149	Santa Monica	$3,050	$122,000	$59
150	Beverly Hills	$3,098	$124,000	$60
151	Emeryville	$3,129	$125,000	$60
152	Milpitas	$3,122	$125,000	$60
153	South San Francisco	$3,240	$130,000	$63
154	San Mateo	$3,282	$131,000	$63
155	Cupertino	$3,374	$135,000	$65
156	Mountain View	$3,413	$137,000	$66
157	Redwood City	$3,480	$139,000	$67
158	Palo Alto	$3,548	$142,000	$68
159	Menlo Park	$3,695	$148,000	$71
160	Goleta	$3,700	$148,000	$71
161	San Francisco	$3,846	$154,000	$74
162	Burlingame	$3,996	$160,000	$77

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 6, 2026).

Frequently asked questions

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

On the 30% rule, the typical California apartment (median $2,250/mo) needs about $90,000 a year, roughly $43/hour full-time. Where you rent swings it a lot: Chico needs about $53,000, 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 $53,000/year for its median $1,313/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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Budget Leases is an independent rental tracker and isn’t affiliated with any listing provider. Rents and availability change constantly, so always confirm the current price on the original listing before you make a decision.