Southern California Rent Report – July 2019

• The national average rent reached $1,469 in July, up by 3.4% ($48) year-over-year, and 0.2% ($3) month-over-month, according to data from Yardi Matrix.
• Marina del Rey, CA renters saw the highest monthly rent increase in July, reaching $3,585 per month. 
• Santa Monica apartments are the most expensive among the state’s largest cities, while apartments in Indio have the cheapest rents. 

The national average rent inches up another $3 in July, reaching $1,469 per month

Nationally, the average rent went up by 3.4% year-over-year, reaching $1,469 in July. Overall, renters had to pay $48 more than they did at the same time last year, according to the latest rent survey from Yardi Matrix. However, July also displayed the slowest month-over-month increase since February, which at 0.2% is a clear signal that peak rental season is nearing its end. The trend is in line with last year’s data – once the busy late spring to early summer period winds down, rents are expected to slow their growth throughout the rest of the year.

Renting in Southern California in July 2019

The average rent in Southern California cities is generally higher than the national average rent. The fastest growing rents in July were in Marina del Rey where rental apartment prices increased by 1.3% month over month, $45 more per month. Moreno Valley apartments saw the second highest monthly increase, jumping by 1.1%, $16 more expensive than last month, while in Hemet and San Marcos prices dropped by 0.7%, $8 and $14 respectively, compared to June.

Santa Monica apartments are the state’s most expensive for renters, with an average rent of $3,796, followed by apartments in Marina del Rey, where the average monthly rent is $3,585. On the other hand, the cheapest city to rent an apartment of the cities analyzed is Indio, with an average apartment rent of $1,112.

Other cities where apartment-dwellers have to spend the most on rent (over $2,000 a month) are: West Hollywood, Culvert City, Newport Beach, Glendale, Pasadena, Los Angeles, Redondo Beach, Irvine, Burbank, Carlsbad, Camarillo, Aliso Viejo, San Diego, Thousand Oaks, Laguna Niguel, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Chino Hills, Long Beach, San Marcos, Costa Mesa, Laguna Hills, Tustin and Ventura.

At the other end of the spectrum, the more affordable California cities where the average monthly rent stays below the $1,500 mark are: Moreno Valley, Lakeside, Palm Desert, Hawthorne, Gardena, National City, Fontana, Rialto, La Puente, Lancaster, Palm Springs, Palmdale, San Bernardino, Colton, Highland, Hemet, Victorville and Indio.

To compare the rental market in Southern California with other cities in the U.S., you can also check our national July rent report.

Methodology

RentCafe.com is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the United States.

The data on average rents included in our reports comes directly from competitively-rented (market-rate) large-scale multifamily properties (50+ units in size), via telephone survey. The data is compiled and reported by our sister company Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors. Fully-affordable properties are not included in the survey and are not reported in rental rate averages. Local rent reports include only cities with a statistically-relevant stock of large-scale multifamily properties of 50+ units.