There was a time, not that long ago, when San Diego was one of the most expensive rental markets in the nation.
Not anymore.
San Diego now ranks No. 12 as the priciest rental market in the U.S., said the April report from real estate website Zumper. That’s the lowest it has been on the list since it started in 2020. San Diego ranked No. 5 in summer 2022 and has generally hovered around seventh or eighth place for much of the list’s history.
Zumper ranks the 100 largest cities in the U.S. by one-bedroom units, and the data is for just the city, not the entire county. It said the median rent in San Diego was $2,200 a month for a one-bedroom in April, down 2.2% annually. That probably doesn’t sound affordable to your average San Diego worker but it could feel like a steal compared to the top five.
New York was the most expensive rental market in the nation with a median $4,540 a month for a one-bedroom, Zumper said. It was followed by San Francisco, at $3,850; Boston, at $3,000; Jersey City, at $3,000; and Miami, at $2,580.
San Diego’s rental slide is largely the result of increased apartment construction, said Zumper analyst Crystal Chen.
“This reflects how significantly the competitive pressure on renters has eased,” she said. “This shift is driven by a surge in supply. More inventory is still on the way, with peak units expected to deliver by the end of (the second quarter).”
Analysts have cited other reasons for slowdowns in rent gains, such as sluggish wage gains and persistent inflation, but there is data to support a surge in apartment supply. San Diego County built 23.6 multifamily (mainly apartments, but also some condos) homes per 10,000 people from July 2024 to June 2025, said the latest Census estimates crunched by Redfin. That was the highest per capita amount of any California metro (Sacramento was 10.5 and Los Angeles was 10.2).
Another way to look at it: San Diego County built 70.8% multifamily housing units as a percentage of total construction in the same time period, said data analyzed by industry research website Construction Coverage. It marks a trend of a decline in single-family home construction in the county. Only one other metro area in the nation was building more multifamily housing as a percentage of total construction: New York.
Chen said so many new apartments opening lead to deals for potential tenants. For example, downtown San Diego’s newest apartment complex, The Torrey, is offering up to two months free and a $1,000 look-and-lease deal. The deal is dependent on length of the lease, the size of the unit and other factors. Downtown San Diego had more than 18,000 apartments in mid-May, said real estate tracker CoStar, making it one of the largest and most competitive local markets.
Zumper’s report also featured rents for other areas of San Diego County. It breaks down prices by city so there isn’t, say, a distinction between newer housing supply in eastern Chula Vista compared to older apartment complexes in the west. Here’s how the county’s different cities vary in monthly rent prices in order of most expensive:
Carlsbad
Cars under the Carlsbad sign in summer 224. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One-bedroom median: $2,540 (up 1.6% in a month, down 3.8% in a year)
Two-bedroom median: $3,270 (flat monthly, down 6.6% in a year)
Oceanside
People walk on the Oceanside Pier in Oceanside in March. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One-bedroom median:$2,250 (up 2.3% in a month, down 2.6% in a year)
Two-bedroom median: $2,710 (down 3.2% in a month, down 1.1% in a year)
San Diego
Aerial shots of The Torrey apartment complex in downtown San Diego. (Holland Partner Group)
One-bedroom median: $2,200 (flat monthly, down 5.6% annually)
Two-bedroom median: $2,950 (down 1.3% in a month, down 7.5% annually)
Note: This metro-level data is from March, which is why there is some variation between annual changes from the report discussed at the top of the story, which included data for all of April.
Vista
The Vista sign crosses Santa Fe Ave. in Vista in late December. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One-bedroom median: $2,220 (flat monthly and annually)
Two-bedroom median: $2,690 (up 2.3% monthly, up 0.7% annually)
Chula Vista
The courtyard of the VAYA apartment complex in the Millenia community of Otay Ranch, as seen in early May. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One-bedroom median: $2,000 (flat monthly, flat year-over-year)
Two-bedroom median: $2,880 (up 2.1% monthly, down 1.4% annually)
Imperial Beach
The sunset at Imperial Beach Pier in early January. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One-bedroom median: $1,940 (up 1.6% in a month, down 1% in a year)
Two-bedroom median: $2,670 (down 0.7% in a month, down 2.2% in a year)
Escondido
Newly planted avocados at Eddie Grangetto’s farm in December in Escondido. (Ana Ramirez / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One-bedroom median: $1,900 (down 3.1% in a month, down 5% in a year)
Two-bedroom median: $2,400 (flat monthly, down 4.4% in a year)
El Cajon
In an aerial view, Gillespie Field airport is seen in January in El Cajon. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One-bedroom median: $1,770 (up 1.7% monthly, down 1.7% in a year)
Two-bedroom median: $2,200 (down 0.5% monthly, up 0.5% annually)