Santa Monica Rents Dip but Still 80 Percent Higher than National Median

By Niki Cervantes
Staff Writer

April 3, 2018 -- Median rents in Santa Monica dipped for the second month in a row in March, but were nonetheless 80 percent higher than their counterparts nationwide, a new tally of rents across the U.S. has found.

The analysis, from Apartment List, showed rents for two-bedroom units were up 1.4 percent from the same month last year in Santa Monica, lagging California’s average increase in rents of 2.9 percent and the national average of two percent (click for report).

But the median rent of $2,100 for a two-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica was a far cry from the median $1,170 a month in rent charged for comparable units across the country, the report said.

Still, of 55 cities in Southern California analyzed, Santa Monica placed fairly low on the list of median cost for two-bedroom units, less expensive than other popular coastal communities, such as Marina del Rey ($4,590) and Rancho Palos Verdes ($4,430).

But the report also reflects high rents extending in all directions, from communities in the outer edge of Los Angeles County, such as fast-growing Santa Clarita ($2,520) to once unassuming San Gabriel Valley cities, such as West Covina ($2,250) and San Dimas ($2,330).

The median rent for a two-bedroom unit in neighboring Culver City is $2,270, the report said, up almost three percent year over year.

Cities with higher median rents than Santa Monica also include Beverly Hills, the coastal cities of Newport Beach, San Clemente, Hermosa Beach, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Redondo Beach and Huntington Beach.

Anaheim’s median rental for a two-bedroom apartment is, like Santa Monica’s, $2,100.
The lowest median rent on the list -- $1,450 a month -- is found in Pomona. Median rents in Los Angeles are $1,740 a month.

For the most part, rent increases last month were less than one percent, except in Santa Clarita, where rents increased 1.10 percent.

Year to date increases followed a long pattern of the population spreading, often in search of lower housing costs.

Orange County’s Garden Grove led the way, with a year-to-year increase in rents of 8.50 percent, followed by West Covina, with a 7.20 percent increase and Lancaster, with a 7 percent increase.