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Central Valley renters continue to get more apartment space for a $1,500 monthly budget than renters in most of California, even as available square footage declined in several regional markets over the past year, according to a new RentCafe report.
The analysis found that a $1,500 monthly rent budget stretches further than the national average of 703 square feet in almost every major Central Valley market. Modesto was one of the few exceptions, where a $1,500 monthly budget rents an average of 687 square feet.
Fresno ranked second in California with an average apartment size of 841 square feet, nine more than third-ranked Visalia at 832.
Visalia had the Central Valley’s biggest bang for buck, with renters gaining 11 square feet year over year for the same budget. In the northern valley, Stockton renters gained five square feet.
Other Central Valley cities moved in the opposite direction. Fresno renters lost eight square feet compared to last year, while Bakersfield lost five square feet and Modesto lost three square feet.
Despite those declines, a $1,500 monthly budget can still rent the equivalent of a two-bedroom apartment in most Central Valley markets, giving renters more space for their money than anywhere else in California, according to the report.
Half of California markets that were analyzed saw apartment space shrink for a $1,500 budget over the past year.
By comparison, San Francisco posted the state’s steepest decline. A $1,500 monthly budget now rents just 307 square feet — 18 fewer square feet than a year ago. Fifteen of the 43 California markets in the study no longer offer enough space for a studio apartment at that price.