Sacramento area rents outpaced California, U.S. – report details how much they went up

Median rent in Sacramento has increased nearly 2 percent over the past year, about double the national average, but some nearby cities saw even more significance shifts since 2018, according to a recent analysis by an online rental marketplace.

Sacramento’s median rental rates are now about $950 for a one-bedroom and $1,210 for a two-bedroom apartment, ApartmentList.com said in its February rent report. Taken together, that’s 1.9 percent more than what rent cost at the same time last year ($940 and $1,190).

Growth has slowed, though; the same report last year found that Sacramento had experienced the fastest rent growth in the nation: 9.3 percent between January 2017 and January 2018.

Elsewhere in the county in the 2019 report, Citrus Heights saw a 4.8 percent increase year-over-year (now $1,110 for one-bedroom, $1,410 for two). Rents have fallen 11 percent since January 2018 in Rancho Cordova ($920 / $1,170).

In Placer County, Roseville continues to be one of the priciest rental cities in the region, and rent rose 4.1 percent in the past year ($1,300 / $1,650). Nearby Rocklin dropped by 1.6 percent ($1,280 / $1,620).

Nationwide, rent increased 1 percent on average, and in California it rose just 0.3 percent. The median rent nationwide for a two-bedroom place is $1,170.

Sacramento two-bedroom apartments remain more than $100 cheaper on average than those in Portland ($1,320), Denver ($1,340) and Austin ($1,420).

All of the top 10 most populous cities in California have seen rent rise compared to January 2018. The median two-bedroom rent in San Francisco stands at $3,090, and San Jose’s 3.8 percent jump to $2,620 was the highest in the state year-over-year.

Apartment List calculates rent estimates using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and extrapolating that data, but only comparing units available during both time frames to track growth.