Seeking a Southern California rental bargain typically means a residence with no coastal breezes.
My trusty spreadsheet reviewed apartment data from RentCafe, tracking the average rent and apartment size in complexes with 50 or more units. The study looked at 200 big U.S. cities as of March and included 28 markets in Southern California.
To measure value, the cost to rent per square foot was calculated for each local spot. That math clearly tells you that apartment shopping is mainly about location.
Contemplate that the average apartment in Southern California’s 10 bargain cities costs $2.48 per square foot. In the 10 most expensive spots, however, it’s $3.30. That’s a 25% savings.
That gap does not include renters making any concessions on the size of their rental. Apartments in the cheapest cities average 850 square feet. The priciest places? 852.
The big gap shows up in the rent itself: $2,114 in the region’s bargain cities and $2,817 where rent is highest.
While hidden gems might be found in any location, the math strongly suggests bargain-hunting tenants should focus inland.
Consider that the 10 cheapest cities, per square foot, had average geographic coordinates in Upland, not far from Ontario Airport.
The 10 costliest? Near South Coast Plaza and Orange County’s John Wayne Airport.
Elsewhere
How do Southern California prices compare?
Well, apartments in the 28 local cities average a cost of $2.90 per square foot. That’s an average rent of $2,486 for 858 square feet of living space.
To the north, there’s a coastal vs. inland split, too.
The eight Bay Area cities tracked had an average $6.45 per square-foot cost, with an average $2,780 rent for only 451 square feet.
The eight inland California cities averaged $2.54 per 1,821 square foot for a tenant to rent 737 square feet.
And here’s no surprise: Renting is cheaper nationally. The typical American apartment dweller pays $1.93 per square foot – $1,754 rent for 907 square feet.
Local bargains
Southern California’s most significant value for tenants, per square foot, resides in the High Desert.
Palmdale has the lowest rent at $2.12 per square foot. That’s a $1,792 average rent (second lowest of the 28 cities) for the average 846-square-feet apartment (No. 17 largest of the 28).
And in Lancaster, the typical tenant pays $2.20 per square foot – $1,775 rent (lowest in Southern California) for 808 square feet (No. 26).
The rest of the Top 10 bargains – minus two – are in the Inland Empire, below the Cajon Pass.
San Bernardino: $2.22 per square foot – the $1,809 average rent (No. 26 of 28) for an 814-square-foot unit (No. 23).
Moreno Valley: $2.36 per square foot – $2,153 rent (No. 24) for 914 square feet (No. 4).
Fontana: $2.50 per square foot – $2,012 rent (No. 25) for 804 square feet (No. 27).
Riverside: $2.62 per square foot – $2,220 rent (No. 22) for 847 square feet (No. 16).
Corona: $2.69 per square foot – $2,351 rent (No. 20) for 875 square feet (No. 8).
Pomona: $2.70 per square foot – $2,211 rent (No. 23) for 818 square feet (No. 21).
Ontario: $2.71 per square foot – $2,448 rent (No. 18) for 904 square feet (No. 5).
Garden Grove: $2.73 per square foot – $2,368 rent (No. 19) for 867 square feet (No. 12).
Locally high-end
The priciest apartments, by this math, are far more coastal – and closer to the region’s job hubs.
The three costliest rent markets are in and around the January wildfire zones, though these cities were never “affordable” places to live.
Pasadena is the costliest – $3.54 per square foot – where the average $3,068 rent (No. 2 of 28) gets a renter a 866-square-foot average unit (No. 13).
Los Angeles costs $3.52 per square foot – $2,782 rent (No. 5) and 791 square feet (Southern California’s smallest). And Glendale is at $3.49 per square foot – $3,012 rent (No. 3) and 862 square feet (No. 15).
The rest of the priciest places, per square foot, are to the south and at or near the ocean.
Irvine: $3.44 per square foot – $3,191 rent (Southern California’s highest) and 927 square feet (also No. 1).
San Diego: $3.41 per square foot – $2,984 rent (No. 4) and 874 square feet (No. 9).
Long Beach: $3.21 per square foot – $2,608 rent (No. 10) and 812 square feet (No. 24).
Huntington Beach: $3.19 per square foot – $2,768 rent (No. 6) and 869 square feet (No. 11).
Santa Ana: $3.09 per square foot – $2,671 rent (No. 8) and 865 square feet (No. 14).
Oceanside: $3.08 per square foot – $2,576 rent (No. 13) and 837 square feet (No. 20).
Fullerton: $3.07 per square foot – $2,508 rent (No. 15) and 816 square feet (No. 22).
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com