Most Expensive Places to Rent in California
52 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 $4,254/mo. Below are all 52 California cities ranked from highest to lowest rent.
| # | City | Studio | 1BR | 2BR | 3BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA | $3,230 | $3,390 | $4,254 | $5,531 |
| 2 | San Francisco San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,574 | $3,003 | $3,697 | $4,832 |
| 3 | Napa Napa, CA MSA | $2,350 | $2,580 | $3,375 | $4,201 |
| 4 | San Jose San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,458 | $2,778 | $3,272 | $4,396 |
| 5 | Santa Maria Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA MSA | $2,479 | $2,711 | $3,106 | $3,990 |
| 6 | Santa Ana Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,580 | $2,610 | $3,057 | $4,153 |
| 7 | San Benito County San Benito County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,279 | $2,296 | $3,004 | $4,160 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,151 | $2,402 | $2,964 | $3,760 |
| 9 | San Diego San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA | $2,192 | $2,335 | $2,823 | $3,743 |
| 10 | Santa Rosa Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA MSA | $1,980 | $2,155 | $2,819 | $3,903 |
| 11 | Oakland Oakland-Fremont, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $2,088 | $2,290 | $2,805 | $3,592 |
| 12 | San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA MSA | $1,894 | $2,079 | $2,720 | $3,634 |
| 13 | Oxnard Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA | $1,827 | $2,035 | $2,424 | $3,287 |
| 14 | Salinas Salinas, CA MSA | $1,956 | $2,009 | $2,416 | $3,261 |
| 15 | Vallejo Vallejo, CA MSA | $1,706 | $1,876 | $2,342 | $3,053 |
| 16 | Sacramento Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,742 | $1,793 | $2,201 | $2,887 |
| 17 | Yolo Yolo, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,659 | $1,670 | $2,135 | $2,956 |
| 18 | Riverside Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA | $1,605 | $1,705 | $2,103 | $2,771 |
| 19 | Stockton Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA | $1,525 | $1,628 | $2,015 | $2,790 |
| 20 | Mono County Mono County, CA | $1,342 | $1,550 | $1,927 | $2,374 |
| 21 | Nevada County Nevada County, CA | $1,313 | $1,441 | $1,885 | $2,610 |
| 22 | Modesto Modesto, CA MSA | $1,276 | $1,378 | $1,803 | $2,410 |
| 23 | Amador County Amador County, CA | $1,373 | $1,381 | $1,765 | $2,219 |
| 24 | Fresno Fresno, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,354 | $1,363 | $1,685 | $2,333 |
| 25 | Mendocino County Mendocino County, CA | $1,209 | $1,287 | $1,683 | $2,330 |
| 26 | Bakersfield Bakersfield-Delano, CA MSA | $1,265 | $1,273 | $1,656 | $2,293 |
| 27 | Lake County Lake County, CA | $1,233 | $1,235 | $1,616 | $2,238 |
| 28 | Tuolumne County Tuolumne County, CA | $1,116 | $1,271 | $1,603 | $2,082 |
| 29 | Yuba City Yuba City, CA MSA | $1,159 | $1,367 | $1,600 | $2,216 |
| 30 | Redding Redding, CA MSA | $1,201 | $1,209 | $1,581 | $2,189 |
| 31 | Humboldt County Humboldt County, CA | $1,122 | $1,188 | $1,554 | $2,152 |
| 32 | Calaveras County Calaveras County, CA | $1,109 | $1,172 | $1,533 | $2,123 |
| 33 | Sierra County Sierra County, CA | $1,063 | $1,167 | $1,526 | $2,113 |
| 34 | Alpine County Alpine County, CA | $1,063 | $1,167 | $1,526 | $2,113 |
| 35 | Merced Merced, CA MSA | $1,200 | $1,262 | $1,517 | $2,087 |
| 36 | Hanford Hanford-Corcoran, CA MSA | $1,175 | $1,183 | $1,512 | $2,094 |
| 37 | Chico Chico, CA MSA | $1,064 | $1,190 | $1,509 | $2,090 |
| 38 | Mariposa County Mariposa County, CA | $1,035 | $1,147 | $1,486 | $2,058 |
| 39 | Inyo County Inyo County, CA | $1,020 | $1,346 | $1,465 | $1,996 |
| 40 | Madera County Madera County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area | $1,264 | $1,272 | $1,460 | $2,022 |
| 41 | Visalia Visalia, CA MSA | $1,101 | $1,108 | $1,450 | $1,995 |
| 42 | Madera Madera, CA MSA | $1,099 | $1,106 | $1,433 | $2,008 |
| 43 | Plumas County Plumas County, CA | $990 | $1,087 | $1,422 | $1,883 |
| 44 | Del Norte County Del Norte County, CA | $979 | $1,292 | $1,406 | $1,947 |
| 45 | Tehama County Tehama County, CA | $948 | $1,040 | $1,361 | $1,885 |
| 46 | Glenn County Glenn County, CA | $948 | $1,040 | $1,361 | $1,867 |
| 47 | El Centro El Centro, CA MSA | $938 | $1,030 | $1,347 | $1,819 |
| 48 | Colusa County Colusa County, CA | $1,073 | $1,080 | $1,344 | $1,861 |
| 49 | Siskiyou County Siskiyou County, CA | $953 | $959 | $1,254 | $1,736 |
| 50 | Lassen County Lassen County, CA | $884 | $1,046 | $1,248 | $1,728 |
| 51 | Trinity County Trinity County, CA | $803 | $881 | $1,153 | $1,510 |
| 52 | Modoc County Modoc County, CA | $755 | $856 | $1,084 | $1,501 |