What 1,608 active rentals across 8 cities are asking right now, how fast rents are moving, and where they are lowest — from live listings and Zillow’s observed rent index. Free to cite; rebuilt twice a day.
Median asking rent by size across today’s listings (single units at market rent; building ranges, income-restricted and furnished short stays left out), and how fast the city’s rents are moving.
| City | Studio | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | $/sqft | 12-mo change | Good value+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda 72 listings | $1,823 | $2,295 | $2,675 | $4,400 | $3.28 | +5.9% | 21% |
| Berkeley 322 listings | $1,925 | $2,295 | $3,000 | $4,006 | $4.18 | +3.6% | 21% |
| Emeryville 28 listings | — | $2,495 | $2,800 | — | $3.24 | +9.5% | 26% |
| Fremont 145 listings | — | $2,475 | $3,088 | $4,200 | $3.00 | +6.0% | 18% |
| Hayward 157 listings | — | $1,930 | $2,495 | $3,800 | $2.88 | +3.9% | 15% |
| Oakland 612 listings | $1,617 | $1,895 | $2,495 | $3,258 | $3.08 | +10.8% | 23% |
| San Francisco 660 listings | $2,790 | $4,198 | $5,995 | $7,450 | $6.24 | +26.4% | 32% |
| San Leandro 108 listings | — | $1,900 | $2,495 | $3,598 | $2.97 | +3.2% | 17% |
Ranked by what a typical listing asks once restated as a one-bedroom, so a neighborhood of studios does not look cheap just for being small — each rent is scaled by the same bed ratios the rent model uses. Neighborhoods with at least 8 listings.
| Neighborhood | Typical, as a 1-bed | 1-bed median | 2-bed median | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koreatown-Northgate Oakland | $1,651 | $1,695 | $2,350 | 22 |
| Fruitvale Oakland | $1,777 | $1,696 | $2,300 | 40 |
| Pill Hill Oakland | $1,800 | $1,798 | — | 11 |
| Dimond Oakland | $1,800 | $1,825 | $2,095 | 27 |
| San Antonio Oakland | $1,819 | $1,735 | — | 13 |
| Maxwell Park Oakland | $1,825 | $1,750 | $2,425 | 29 |
| Elmhurst Oakland | $1,853 | $1,850 | $2,295 | 34 |
| Adams Point Oakland | $1,856 | $1,795 | $2,745 | 17 |
| West Oakland Oakland | $1,860 | $1,895 | — | 19 |
| Cleveland Heights Oakland | $1,885 | $1,857 | $2,145 | 18 |
| ZIP 94578 San Leandro | $1,885 | $1,895 | $2,450 | 40 |
| Laurel Oakland | $1,895 | $1,895 | $2,223 | 19 |
| Neighborhood | Typical, as a 1-bed | 1-bed median | 2-bed median | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial District / South Beach San Francisco | $5,800 | $5,800 | $8,248 | 41 |
| Marina San Francisco | $5,353 | $5,375 | $7,568 | 33 |
| Pacific Heights San Francisco | $5,311 | $4,502 | $7,400 | 24 |
| Russian Hill San Francisco | $5,231 | $4,790 | $6,595 | 22 |
| Lone Mountain / USF San Francisco | $4,995 | — | $6,495 | 8 |
| Castro / Upper Market San Francisco | $4,909 | — | $6,348 | 10 |
| Noe Valley San Francisco | $4,668 | — | $6,400 | 11 |
| Potrero Hill San Francisco | $4,600 | $4,500 | $6,473 | 12 |
| Twin Peaks San Francisco | $4,375 | $4,585 | $4,900 | 9 |
| Mission Bay San Francisco | $4,350 | $3,675 | $6,947 | 8 |
| Haight Ashbury San Francisco | $4,308 | $4,000 | $5,495 | 17 |
| Mission San Francisco | $4,200 | $4,050 | $5,500 | 43 |
Share of each neighborhood’s scored listings rated good value or better by the Rent Deal Score — asking under what the rent index says that size should cost there, after size, looks and how long it has sat.
| Neighborhood | Good value+ | Scored |
|---|---|---|
| Bayview Hunters Point San Francisco | 85% (11) | 13 |
| Pill Hill Oakland | 73% (8) | 11 |
| Koreatown-Northgate Oakland | 71% (12) | 17 |
| Tenderloin San Francisco | 66% (21) | 32 |
| Hoover-Foster Oakland | 63% (10) | 16 |
| Mission San Jose Fremont | 63% (5) | 8 |
| Uptown Oakland | 63% (5) | 8 |
| West Berkeley Berkeley | 63% (5) | 8 |
| South of Market San Francisco | 50% (15) | 30 |
| LeConte Berkeley | 50% (8) | 16 |
The typical 2-bed condo for sale in each city against the typical 2-bed rental. Owning = 20% down, a 30-year fixed at 7.32% (Freddie Mac weekly average, 2026-10-22), property tax at 1.2% a year, $100/mo insurance and the median HOA. It is the cash comparison only: it leaves out maintenance, what the down payment would earn elsewhere, tax deductions, equity paydown and appreciation — each of which can change the long-run answer.
| City | 2-bed condo price | Own / mo | Rent / mo | Difference | Price-to-rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda 20 two-bed condos for sale | $575,000 | $4,433 incl. $598 HOA | $2,675 | own +$1,758 | 17.9× |
| Berkeley 14 two-bed condos for sale | $694,500 | $5,409 incl. $798 HOA | $3,000 | own +$2,409 | 19.3× |
| Emeryville 13 two-bed condos for sale | $599,000 | $4,899 incl. $908 HOA | $2,800 | own +$2,099 | 17.8× |
| Fremont 38 two-bed condos for sale | $624,000 | $4,732 incl. $579 HOA | $3,088 | own +$1,644 | 16.8× |
| Hayward 24 two-bed condos for sale | $469,499 | $3,730 incl. $580 HOA | $2,495 | own +$1,235 | 15.7× |
| Oakland 66 two-bed condos for sale | $522,000 | $4,216 incl. $726 HOA | $2,495 | own +$1,721 | 17.4× |
| San Francisco 124 two-bed condos for sale | $1,395,000 | $10,290 incl. $1,129 HOA | $5,995 | own +$4,295 | 19.4× |
| San Leandro 5 two-bed condos for sale | $618,000 | $4,608 incl. $494 HOA | $2,495 | own +$2,113 | 20.6× |
Price-to-rent is the price divided by a year of rent; above roughly 20× renting is usually the cheaper monthly choice. Run your own numbers with the true monthly cost calculator, which uses the HOA fees actually recorded in each city.
Cite this. Free to quote with a link.
Across 1,608 active Bay Area rental listings, the median 1-bedroom asks $2,273 a month and the median 2-bedroom $3,000; Zillow’s rent index for the metro is +11.8% over the past year (Stealpad Rent Report, October 2026).
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 — credit “Stealpad Bay Area Rent Report” with a link to this page. Rebuilt with the report, twice a day.
Paste this into any page; the chart updates itself and links back to the full report.
<iframe src="https://stealpad.com/rent/report/embed/" title="Bay Area rent change by city (Stealpad)" width="100%" height="330" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
What is the average rent in the Bay Area right now?
Across 1,608 active listings in 8 cities, the median asking rent is $2,898 a month: $2,273 for a one-bedroom and $3,000 for a two-bedroom. It varies a lot by city — see the table above.
How much have Bay Area rents gone up?
Zillow’s Observed Rent Index for the San Francisco metro is +11.8% over the 12 months to September 2026. The fastest-rising city we cover is San Francisco, +26.4%.
What is the cheapest neighborhood to rent in?
Of the neighborhoods with at least 8 listings, Koreatown-Northgate in Oakland is cheapest right now — a typical rental there asks about $1,651 once restated as a one-bedroom. The most expensive is Financial District / South Beach in San Francisco, at $5,800.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy a condo in the Bay Area?
On monthly cash cost, renting is cheaper in 8 of the 8 cities where we can compare like for like: owning the typical 2-bed condo for sale (20% down, 7.32% 30-year fixed, property tax, insurance and HOA) costs more each month than renting the typical 2-bed. That leaves out equity, appreciation and tax effects, which can change the long-run answer.
Asking rents are today’s active listings from Redfin’s rentals feed (pulled Oct 26, 2026). Medians use single units at market rent only: a building advertising a spread of units, an income-restricted or senior unit, and a furnished short stay are each left out, because none is the rent a typical renter is quoted. A size needs at least 5 listings in a city before it gets a median, 3 in a neighborhood.
Rent trend is Zillow’s Observed Rent Index (ZORI), city and metro level, smoothed, through September 2026 — what people are observed paying, not what landlords advertise, which is why it can differ from the asking medians above.
Neighborhoods come from public maps: San Francisco’s 41 official neighborhoods, OpenStreetMap in the East Bay, and ZIP areas where no public list holds up. Good value or better is the Rent Deal Score, explained on the rentals page.