San Lorenzo, CA

180 Apartments for Rent

San Lorenzo Village was one of the nation's first planned communities, with parcels designated for schools, churches, parks, and several retail centers.

Located just across the bay from and south of San Francisco, the pleasant city of San Lorenzo once bore the less attractive moniker of "Squatterville." It was so dubbed because California Gold Rush miners camped between the former Mexican land grant properties of Rancho San Lorenzo and Rancho San Leandro. They may not have found gold but they could've found oysters. Oysters were introduced to the bay, brought all the way around the cape from Patchogue, Long Island on the east coast by a half-shell loving gent named Moses Wicks in the 19th Century. Originally designed as a planned community in 1944, the town featured neighborhoods of two and three bedroom homes, parks, schools, and retail centers, San Lorenzo served as a model for other well known communities like Levittown, PA.

San Lorenzo's Neighborhoods

Today, finding rental homes in San Lorenzo includes options from condo rentals to 1 bedroom apartments, and if you are looking for a house to rent, you can find that, too.

San Lorenzo Town Center: The core of San Lorenzo offers a walkable mix of large and medium-sized homes and apartment complexes. With homes built primarily between the 1940's and 1960's, this neighborhood is the heart of the planned community concept that rose up in the town. Most residents use a car rather than public transportation to head off to work, although shops and cafes are easy to reach on foot.

Worthley Dr. / Grant Avenue: This is a coastal section of town, where homes range from medium to large, with townhouse communities also a part of the mix. Like Town Center, most of the residences are older, and well maintained, constructed between 1940 and 1969. Some are newer, built from 1970 to 1999. It's an urban, walkable community with many water views. If you like a bay breeze in the morning, this is the neighborhood for you.

Silverleaf Dr. / Bertero Avenue: No need to be close to the bay? This is a section of town with smaller homes and medium sized dwellings, too. Away from the waterfront, this community is a mix of apartment complexes, high rise apartments, row houses, and single family homes. It, too, is a walkable community, with trendy shops appearing in the retail area.