Last updated September 24, 2026

Average Rent in San Diego, CA & Rent Trends

Rent prices and market trends across 32 apartment communities in San Diego, CA. Updated daily.

Area All Areas Carmel Valley Embarcadero Jamacha Mid-City Middletown North Park Otay Mesa San Carlos

Beds All Bedrooms Studio 1 Bed 2 Bed 3 Bed 4 Bed 5 Bed

Market Average

$3,400/mo

Lowest Available

$1,500/mo

cheapest unit on market

Communities

tracked daily

Units Listed

550

available now

Price Cuts This Week in San Diego, CA

157 listed units across 20 buildings in San Diego, CA dropped their asking rent in the past 7 days, an average cut of $240/mo. These are the largest cuts, tracked unit by unit with daily price checks.

Apartment	Unit	Last Week	Now	Cut
The Lindley	Unit 16	$11,156	$6,863	$4,293
The Lindley	Unit 15	$6,418	$4,183	$2,235
The Lindley	Unit 2	$6,249	$4,093	$2,156
The Lindley	Unit 14	$6,663	$4,774	$1,889
The Lindley	Unit 3	$5,923	$4,423	$1,500
The Lindley	Unit 5	$4,423	$3,173	$1,250
The Lindley	Unit 4	$4,093	$3,177	$916
The Lindley	Unit 18	$11,976	$11,156	$820

See today's prices on all 550 listed units

Rent by Neighborhood in San Diego, CA

Compare average rent across San Diego, CA neighborhoods. Click any area to see detailed trends. View these neighborhoods on the rent map

Neighborhood	Avg Rent	30d Change	From	Properties	Units
Carmel Valley	$4,640	▼ $235	$3,102	2	39
Mid-City	$4,053	▼ $601	$2,095	1	7
Embarcadero	$3,360	▼ $62	$1,500	23	426
Middletown	$3,211	▼ $58	$2,354	1	13
Otay Mesa	$2,999	▼ $121	$2,295	2	8
San Carlos	$2,882	▲ $89	$2,475	1	10
Jamacha	$2,280	▼ $112	$1,946	1	4
North Park	$2,279	▲ $126	$1,698	1	7

Is Rent Going Up or Down in San Diego, CA?

As of September 2026, the average rent in San Diego, CA is $3,400 per month across 32 apartment communities and 550 available units.

The most affordable option is J Street Flats starting at $1,500/mo. By unit type, a studio averages $2,470/mo, a 1-bedroom averages $3,020/mo, a 2-bedroom averages $4,156/mo, a 3-bedroom averages $6,637/mo.

Prices range from $1,500 to $17,840 per month. The most common price point is the $2,800 range, where 86 units are currently listed.

San Diego, CA Rent Price History

Timeframe

View as table

Month	Avg Rent	Change	Properties
April 2026	$2,989	-	7
May 2026	$3,267	+$278	23
June 2026	$3,282	+$15	25
July 2026	$3,191	-$91	30
August 2026	$3,292	+$101	33
September 2026	$3,241	-$51	33

The trend line and monthly averages track each building's average listed price, recorded daily with outliers trimmed. The current month is a month-to-date figure, so it can sit above or below today's live market average shown at the top of this page.

Average Rent by Bedroom

Rent Price Distribution

Rent by Bedroom Type in San Diego, CA

Studio

$2,470

from $1,500 · 136 units

1 Bed

$3,020

from $1,698 · 208 units

2 Bed

$4,156

from $1,946 · 186 units

3 Bed

$6,637

from $2,352 · 20 units

Rent Prices by Apartment in San Diego, CA

Property	Starting at	Average	Units	Rating
J Street Flats	$1,500/mo	$1,533/mo	9	4.2
Northpark Properties	$1,698/mo	$2,279/mo	7	3
900 F Street Apartments	$1,795/mo	$1,874/mo	3	3.9
625 Broadway	$1,909/mo	$2,722/mo	10	4.4
Meadowbrook Apartments	$1,946/mo	$2,280/mo	4	3.5
Vera Cortez Hill	$1,949/mo	$2,552/mo	23	4.1
800 Broadway	$2,044/mo	$3,649/mo	49	4.8
Mercer Properties	$2,095/mo	$4,053/mo	7	4
Nova Apartment Homes	$2,103/mo	$2,279/mo	15	4.3
The Rey Apartments	$2,157/mo	$2,807/mo	49	4.3
Form 15 Apartments	$2,227/mo	$2,550/mo	6	4.3
Vantage Pointe Apartments	$2,247/mo	$3,085/mo	57	3.6
The Landing at Ocean View Hills	$2,295/mo	$2,656/mo	3	3.5
4th+J	$2,299/mo	$2,818/mo	38	4.3
Modera San Diego	$2,304/mo	$2,921/mo	41	4.1
The Merian	$2,320/mo	$3,699/mo	40	3.5
AVA Balboa Park	$2,354/mo	$3,211/mo	13	4.7
Tenth&G	$2,384/mo	$2,771/mo	12	4.1
Arrive Broadway Lofts	$2,399/mo	$2,521/mo	5	4
Mission Trails Apartments	$2,475/mo	$2,882/mo	10	4
Stanza Little Italy	$2,574/mo	$3,480/mo	18	4.5
Radian Apartments	$2,690/mo	$4,732/mo	19	4.3
AV8	$2,777/mo	$3,365/mo	6	4.8
Eighteen Ten State St.	$2,799/mo	$3,067/mo	7	4.8
Luma Apartments	$2,870/mo	$4,050/mo	10	4.1
Riveredge Terrace	$2,938/mo	$3,205/mo	5	4.5
Simone Little Italy	$2,995/mo	$5,076/mo	17	4.2
The Lindley	$3,087/mo	$5,977/mo	21	4
The Village at Del Mar Heights Apartments	$3,102/mo	$3,468/mo	8	4.6
Valentina by Alta	$3,109/mo	$3,960/mo	5	4.7
The Artisan	$3,111/mo	$3,486/mo	2	4.1
One Paseo Living	$3,412/mo	$4,943/mo	31	4.5

Frequently Asked Questions About Rent in San Diego, CA

What is the average rent in San Diego, CA?

The average rent in San Diego, CA is $3,400 per month as of September 2026, based on 550 units across 32 apartment communities.

Is rent going up or down in San Diego, CA?

The current average rent in San Diego, CA is $3,400/mo, refreshed daily to track rent trends.

What is the cheapest apartment in San Diego, CA?

The most affordable apartment in San Diego, CA is J Street Flats with units starting at $1,500/mo.

How much is a 1-bedroom apartment in San Diego, CA?

A 1-bedroom apartment in San Diego, CA averages $3,020/mo, with prices starting at $1,698/mo across 208 available units.

How many apartments are available in San Diego, CA?

There are 550 units available across 32 apartment communities in San Diego, CA.

What salary do I need to live comfortably in San Diego, CA?

Built on the 25 to 30 percent rent-to-income guideline used by most landlords and credit-scoring models.

Minimum to afford average rent

$136,000/year

Based on the 30 percent rule, using our tracked average rent of $3,400/mo.

Comfortable income

$163,000/year

Based on the 25 percent rule, leaving more room for savings, transport, and groceries.

To afford the cheapest tracked apartment ($1,500/mo), you need to earn at least $60,000/year.

Median household income in San Diego, CA is $104,321 , about 36% below the comfortable-living threshold.

Cost of living in San Diego, CA

Overall prices in San Diego, CA runs above the national average by about 11% (BEA Regional Price Parity index 110.7, where 100 equals the U.S. average). The breakdown below estimates monthly costs for a single adult, using national consumer-spending baselines from the Bureau of Labor Statistics scaled by San Diego, CA's regional price parities.

Category	Monthly estimate	Source
Rent (market average)	$3,400	daily refresh
Utilities	$799	BLS × BEA RPP
Groceries	$552	BLS × BEA RPP
Transportation	$1,904	BLS × BEA RPP
Healthcare	$929	BLS × BEA RPP
Other goods and services	$1,486	BLS × BEA RPP
Estimated total	$9,070/mo	$108,845/year

Population

1,385,061

Median household income

$104,321

Census median rent

$2,223/mo

Census rent burden

32.2%

Median age

36.0

Mean commute

24 min

Methodology

Rent data

Sourced directly from each tracked apartment community and refreshed every 24 hours. Every listed unit price on this page is real and listed today.

Cost of living

Estimates combine national consumer-spending baselines from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Consumer Expenditure Survey) with the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (MARPP dataset). Both are peer-reviewed federal data releases published annually.

Salary to live comfortably

Applies the standard 25 to 30 percent rent-to-income rule on top of the listed rent. This is the same affordability guideline used by most landlords and credit-scoring models.

Demographic figures

Median household income, population, median age, commute time, Census median rent, and rent as percentage of income come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year estimates, the most recent complete release.

Cost of living and demographic figures were last published in 2023.

California Rent Trends

Compare rent across all California cities

San Diego, CA Neighborhood Rent Map

See rent history by neighborhood on a map

Explore San Diego, CA on Map

See neighborhoods and rent data interactively

US-wide rent comparison

See how San Diego, CA rents stack up against the national median