San Francisco Remains Nation's Most Expensive City For Renters

October rent comparison for top cities
Courtesy of Zumper

San Francisco rents continue their upward climb, hitting an average $3,650/month for a one-bedroom apartment for October — remaining the highest in the nation, according to a new report.

San Francisco's one-bedroom rent, which is up 4.9% from a year ago and up from $3,570 for September rents, is the highest rent since November 2015, Zumper reports. It sits well above average rents of $2,850 in New York City, $2,470 in San Jose, $2,370 in Los Angeles and $2,360 in Boston.

Two-bedroom apartment rents in San Francisco were up 6.7% to $4,800 — more than $1,500 more a month than comparable apartments in the other top markets.

The numbers are part of the apartment listing firm's latest national rent report, which looks at 100 cities across the nation. Nationally, one-bedroom rent is up 1.6% from a year ago to $1,211 and two-bedroom rent is up 3% to $1,443.

Six of the 10 most expensive cities were in California, where affordability is a constant conversation as cities look for ways to encourage more affordable housing while many continue to fall far below the level of housing required by the state.

Also factoring into the discussion is the push to repeal Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which puts limits on rent control. If Costa-Hawkins is repealed, cities could put their own rent control ordinances in place, which advocates say would create more affordable housing while opponents argue it would discourage new housing projects to bring more units on the market. That decision goes before voters in November.

Rounding out the top 10 most expensive cities were Oakland ($2,170), Washington, D.C. ($2,160), Santa Ana ($1,920), Seattle ($1,910) and San Diego ($1,840).

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Related Topics: Apartment rents , Costa-Hawkins , Zumper
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's San Francisco Newsletters
Related Stories

Ruben Cos. Says It Can't Sell, Finance Navy Yard Multifamily Project

Troubled Multifamily Loans Face A Refinancing Problem: Who Puts In New Equity?

NYC Pushes To Use Opportunity Zone 2.0 For Mamdani's Housing Goals

DOJ Charges LA Nonprofit Workers With Misusing $8.7M Meant For Housing Aid

Bugatti Lends Brand To 60-Story Miami Condo Tower

With Occupancy Brimming, Investors Pile Into Bay Area Apartments

FBI Drops Investigation Into Financially Troubled StoryBuilt

GTIS Partners Rebrands As Brightshore Capital, Launches $250M Debt Platform

Stanford Pursuing $100M Fund For A 2M SF Expansion

Dublin BTR Had A €1B Summer

Sales Of Lower-End Apartments Surge In Philly As Landlords Face Financial Issues

Wu Proposes Tax Breaks To Jump-Start Stalled Housing Projects