Where Rents Have Increased — And Decreased — The Most In California: Report

CALIFORNIA — California may be a notoriously pricey place to live, but a new report found that some areas of the Golden State have actually seen apartment-rent prices drop over the last year — while other areas have seen rent costs far exceed inflation.

The report, released Monday by Rent Research, shows the median monthly price of an apartment statewide was $3,007. That's just a 0.24-percent increase from the year before, while March rent costs were up 2.10 percent from February.

California's year-to-year increase is the 14th smallest in the country.

The 10 states that saw the highest increases during the past year were Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, New York, New Hampshire, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin and Connecticut; increases ranged from 13.34 percent to 66.2 percent.

The 10 states that saw the greatest decreases in year-over-year rental costs were Florida, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina, Nevada, Colorado, Tennessee, Washington, Kentucky and Pennsylvania; decreases ranged from -8.80 percent to -1.38 percent.

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Rent-price changes varied drastically across California, where only two metros saw an increase in rents year over year.

The San Jose area saw the greatest year-to-year change at 9.28 percent, bringing the median rent to $3,902.

Rents in the Los Angeles area increased 4.24 percent to a median of $3,503.

The following metro areas saw rent decreases over the last year:

• San Francisco: -0.11 percent to a median of $3,690
• San Diego: -1.29 percent to a median of $3,320
• Sacramento: -3.62 percent to a median of $2,620
• Riverside: -4.74 percent to a median of $2,642

The changes in rent between February and March 2024 also varied across metro areas:

• Riverside: -0.82 percent
• San Diego: -0.61 percent
• Los Angeles: -0.18 percent
• San Francisco: +0.15 percent
• San Jose: +0.96 percent
• Sacramento: +2.37 percent

Nationally, rent costs have increased moderately over the past three months, signaling a return of the rental market’s high-season demand heading into the spring and summer months, according to the report. The median price of an apartment was $1,987 in March. Rent costs have increased by 0.77 percent over the past year, by 0.30 percent in the past month and by 1.17 percent since January.

“While there were moderate gains in March, more substantial rent growth continues to be hindered by high housing costs, which are retaining potential homebuyers in the rental market,” the report said. “At the same time, oversupply in rental markets has also tempered more robust rent growth despite increased demand heading into peak leasing season.”

In the final quarter of 2023, nearly 7 percent of the U.S. apartment stock was vacant, which compares with pre-pandemic levels, according to the report.