Most Expensive Places to Rent in California
51 cities ranked by average 2BR rent · HUD Fair Market Rents
The most expensive place to rent in California is Santa Cruz, with an average 2-bedroom rent of $4,223/mo. Below are all 51 California cities ranked from highest to lowest rent.
| # | City | Studio | 1BR | 2BR | 3BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA | $3,056 | $3,221 | $4,223 | $5,256 |
| 2 | San Jose San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,608 | $2,975 | $3,446 | $4,477 |
| 3 | San Francisco San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,275 | $2,780 | $3,318 | $4,138 |
| 4 | Santa Maria Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA MSA | $2,381 | $2,688 | $3,028 | $4,011 |
| 5 | Salinas Salinas, CA MSA | $2,414 | $2,479 | $2,982 | $4,025 |
| 6 | Santa Ana Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,352 | $2,454 | $2,903 | $3,927 |
| 7 | San Diego San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA | $2,145 | $2,328 | $2,881 | $3,852 |
| 8 | Napa Napa, CA MSA | $1,915 | $2,128 | $2,792 | $3,636 |
| 9 | Santa Rosa Santa Rosa, CA MSA | $1,879 | $2,089 | $2,740 | $3,743 |
| 10 | Oakland Oakland-Fremont, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,937 | $2,201 | $2,682 | $3,432 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,856 | $2,081 | $2,625 | $3,335 |
| 12 | San Benito County San Benito County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,799 | $1,999 | $2,623 | $3,655 |
| 13 | Oxnard Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA | $1,871 | $2,147 | $2,569 | $3,505 |
| 14 | San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA MSA | $1,669 | $1,855 | $2,434 | $3,250 |
| 15 | Vallejo Vallejo-Fairfield, CA MSA | $1,724 | $1,894 | $2,420 | $3,234 |
| 16 | Riverside Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA | $1,776 | $1,852 | $2,306 | $3,079 |
| 17 | Sacramento Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,679 | $1,777 | $2,206 | $2,992 |
| 18 | Yolo Yolo, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,602 | $1,613 | $2,116 | $2,944 |
| 19 | Nevada County Nevada County, CA | $1,352 | $1,361 | $1,785 | $2,501 |
| 20 | Stockton Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA | $1,248 | $1,363 | $1,736 | $2,433 |
| 21 | Redding Redding, CA MSA | $1,151 | $1,229 | $1,613 | $2,260 |
| 22 | Mendocino County Mendocino County, CA | $1,173 | $1,220 | $1,601 | $2,243 |
| 23 | Modesto Modesto, CA MSA | $1,130 | $1,209 | $1,566 | $2,194 |
| 24 | Yuba City Yuba City, CA MSA | $1,195 | $1,197 | $1,522 | $2,133 |
| 25 | Merced Merced, CA MSA | $1,071 | $1,227 | $1,509 | $2,081 |
| 26 | Fresno Fresno, CA MSA | $1,210 | $1,217 | $1,505 | $2,109 |
| 27 | Amador County Amador County, CA | $1,253 | $1,260 | $1,493 | $2,084 |
| 28 | Mono County Mono County, CA | $1,036 | $1,348 | $1,493 | $2,092 |
| 29 | Humboldt County Humboldt County, CA | $1,065 | $1,132 | $1,478 | $2,071 |
| 30 | Chico Chico, CA MSA | $1,069 | $1,126 | $1,466 | $2,054 |
| 31 | Alpine County Alpine County, CA | $1,003 | $1,101 | $1,445 | $2,025 |
| 32 | Sierra County Sierra County, CA | $1,003 | $1,101 | $1,445 | $2,025 |
| 33 | Hanford Hanford-Corcoran, CA MSA | $1,151 | $1,158 | $1,445 | $2,025 |
| 34 | Tuolumne County Tuolumne County, CA | $987 | $1,123 | $1,439 | $1,891 |
| 35 | Madera Madera, CA MSA | $1,099 | $1,106 | $1,433 | $2,008 |
| 36 | Visalia Visalia-Porterville, CA MSA | $1,082 | $1,089 | $1,429 | $1,967 |
| 37 | Inyo County Inyo County, CA | $978 | $1,254 | $1,426 | $1,734 |
| 38 | Calaveras County Calaveras County, CA | $989 | $1,086 | $1,425 | $1,997 |
| 39 | Lake County Lake County, CA | $1,053 | $1,060 | $1,390 | $1,948 |
| 40 | Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA MSA | $1,058 | $1,064 | $1,380 | $1,934 |
| 41 | El Centro El Centro, CA MSA | $940 | $1,056 | $1,371 | $1,873 |
| 42 | Tehama County Tehama County, CA | $926 | $1,030 | $1,351 | $1,778 |
| 43 | Mariposa County Mariposa County, CA | $928 | $1,119 | $1,338 | $1,875 |
| 44 | Plumas County Plumas County, CA | $904 | $1,005 | $1,318 | $1,847 |
| 45 | Del Norte County Del Norte County, CA | $869 | $1,086 | $1,253 | $1,756 |
| 46 | Glenn County Glenn County, CA | $841 | $935 | $1,227 | $1,631 |
| 47 | Colusa County Colusa County, CA | $915 | $921 | $1,208 | $1,625 |
| 48 | Siskiyou County Siskiyou County, CA | $924 | $930 | $1,201 | $1,683 |
| 49 | Lassen County Lassen County, CA | $819 | $910 | $1,194 | $1,673 |
| 50 | Trinity County Trinity County, CA | $777 | $854 | $1,120 | $1,569 |
| 51 | Modoc County Modoc County, CA | $731 | $886 | $1,054 | $1,270 |