Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly)
Hillsborough, CA had the highest median gross rent (monthly) of 376 cities in 2021, at $3,501. Blythe, CA had the lowest, at $798. The median was $1,751 and the figure for California was $1,698. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 cities, 2021
Full ranking
Other periods
About this ranking
Monthly gross rent of renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, at the middle of the distribution, in US dollars of the last year of the period.
More on how it is measured
- Gross rent is the contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels paid by the renter.
- United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.
A median, not an average, of what all renters pay, including long-standing leases, so it is lower than asking rents for new listings.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat
MLA 9
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly), 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/california-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/california-cities?period=2021.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/california-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_california_by_2021,
author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly), 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/california-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Census Bureau
TI - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly), 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/01/29
PB - U.S. Census Bureau
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/california-cities?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/california-cities?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Cities in California by median gross rent (monthly) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"median_gross_rent","level":"municipality","within":"California","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=median_gross_rent&level=municipality&within=California&limit=10Questions
Which city has the highest median gross rent (monthly)?
Hillsborough, CA, with $3,501 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which city has the lowest median gross rent (monthly)?
Blythe, CA, with $798 in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.
Median gross rent (monthly): other rankings
- Cities in Connecticut
- Cities in Minnesota
- Cities in New Hampshire
- Counties in Mississippi
- Counties in Florida
- Counties in Kansas
Cities in California: more rankings
- Housing units authorized by building permits
- Average household size
- Rent-burdened renter households (rent 30 percent or more of income)
- Single-family housing units authorized by building permits
- Hispanic or Latino population share
- Median household income
- White (non-Hispanic) population share
- Black or African American population share