How much do households in the San Diego, CA area spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $2.01K, or 34.5% of their income, in 2018–2022. This was measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2018–2022, median rent was
34.5%
of median income
In 2018–2022,
$2.01K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability.
San Diego, CA area’s median rent was about $2.01K per month in 2018–2022. Typical monthly income among renting households was about $5.83K per month during that same period.
A typical household spent about $2.01K on rent in the San Diego, CA area.
Median rent and median renter household income, 2018–2022
Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates greater affordability.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of median monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
San Diego, CA area's rent-to-income ratio ranked 7 out of 26 California metros.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
Compared to other metro areas in California, the San Diego, CA area had the 7th highest median rent and 8th highest median renter-household income. Out of the 26 metros in the state, the San Diego, CA area’s rent-to-income ratio ranked 20th lowest.
The large metro average rent-to-income ratio was 31.4%.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
San Diego, CA area is a large metro. Large metros had over 1 million people. Compared to other large metros, the San Diego, CA area’s rent-to-income ratio is higher than is typical. The average among large metros was 31.4% in 2018–2022, 3.1 percentage points lower than in the San Diego, CA area.
Renter income and rent, large metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Atlanta, GA area | $4,480 |
| 2. | Baltimore, MD area | $4,588 |
| 3. | Birmingham, AL area | $3,306 |
| 4. | Boston, MA area | $5,388 |
| 5. | Buffalo, NY area | $3,131 |
| 6. | Charlotte, NC area | $4,307 |
| 7. | Cincinnati, OH area | $3,462 |
| 8. | Cleveland, OH area | $3,222 |
| 9. | Columbus, OH area | $4,100 |
| 10. | Dallas, TX area | $4,738 |
