“Bargain” rental markets lose advantage in pricey California

Bargain spots for apartment dwellers are fading from California’s map.

An analysis published by Los Angeles Daily News divided the state’s cities into two groups, those with high-cost rents and those with low-cost rents. Then it compared prices over time and found the difference between the high and low groups shrunk 22 percent since 2017.

The reason: “Rents in California’s costliest half grew just 11 percent since 2017. But there was a 35 percent surge in the more ‘affordable’ locales.”

In terms of dollars, in 2017 the high-cost cities had average rents of $2,471 compared to $1,589 among the economical cities, yielding a $882 monthly savings for renters who lived in lower-priced cities.

By using data for 12 months ending in March 2024, the high-cost cities have rents of $2,748 versus $2,144 in cheaper cities, a monthly difference of $604.

The News attributed the shift to people moving away from big cities on the coast to more affordable inland areas as remote work allowed for relocation, as well as the overall tendency for people to search for less costly in smaller population centers.

In Southern California, the numbers show double-digit gains in rent for traditional low-cost markets. For example, in Riverside, rents have jumped 48 percent since 2017 to $1,810, while in nearby Moreno Valley rents spiraled up to $1,906, also a 48 percent hike. Both are in Riverside County.

In L.A. County, Pomona’s rents increased 31 percent to $1,865 while in Los Beach – a rare coastal “affordable” market — rents have climbed 17 percent since 2017 to $1,769. 

California’s statewide average rent in March 2024 was $2,154, the second most-expensive in the nation behind Hawai’i at $2,239. The national average was $1,402, or 35 cheaper than California.

The analysis used figures from Apartment List’s database from January 2017 to March 2024, using a mix of Census Bureau numbers and the company’s own rentals, the News said.

— Joel Russell