Updated September 2026. Based on Apartment List's August 2026 rent estimates, Vacancy Index, and time-on-market data.
Apartment List's Rent Index estimates Los Angeles's median monthly rent at $2,075 in August 2026, 1.3% lower than a year earlier, with one-bedrooms at $1,856 and two-bedrooms at $2,367. If you're searching for a one-bedroom, use the one-bedroom median rather than the median for all apartment sizes. These bedroom-specific medians give you a starting point for comparing apartments in the neighborhoods you're considering.
Los Angeles rents have been below their year-earlier level for 16 consecutive months, according to Apartment List's estimates, and the August 2026 median was 6.3% below the city's August 2022 peak and 1.3% above its October 2019 pre-pandemic high. Below, see which way prices are moving, how availability has changed, whether the time of year matters, and where rent runs lower nearby.
Median Monthly Rent, Los Angeles and U.S., August 2026
| Apartment size | Los Angeles | U.S. | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All sizes | $2,075 | $1,390 | Los Angeles $685 higher |
| One-bedroom | $1,856 | $1,221 | Los Angeles $635 higher |
| Two-bedroom | $2,367 | $1,376 | Los Angeles $991 higher |
Source: Apartment List Rent Index, August 2026.
Los Angeles ranked 17th among the 100 largest U.S. cities for overall median rent in August 2026, according to Apartment List's estimates, at 49.3% above the national median and $17 below Seattle's $2,092. It ranked 16th for one-bedroom and 14th for two-bedroom median rent.
A median calculated from apartments advertised on one listing site describes that site's available inventory, which can differ from Apartment List's estimate for new leases across the whole city. Compare the listings you're considering with the median for your bedroom count rather than expecting them to match it.
Down from a year ago, up since January. Los Angeles's overall median rent was 1.3% lower in August 2026 than in August 2025 but 1.8% higher than in January 2026, according to Apartment List's estimates, and it rose 0.3% in August alone. For scale, Apartment List's national median rose 0.1% in August and was 0.8% lower than a year earlier, while California's median was 1.8% higher than a year earlier.
Each comparison ends in August 2026. January's median was lower and the previous August's was higher, which is how Los Angeles rents can rise during the year while staying below their year-earlier level. Apartment List's estimates show the same pattern in 2025: rents rose 1.4% from January to August, then fell in each month from October through December.
Yes, and it has been for 16 months running. August 2026 was the 16th consecutive month in which Los Angeles's overall median rent came in below the same month a year earlier, in Apartment List's estimates; the run began in May 2025. Since May 2023, the median has been below its year-earlier level in 37 of 40 months, with February through April 2025 the only exceptions.
The 2026 months show the gap narrowing. According to Apartment List's estimates, Los Angeles's overall median fell to $2,039 in January 2026, its lowest point since the August 2022 peak, then rose to $2,075 by August. The year-over-year decline narrowed from 2.4% in March to 1.3% in August.
Los Angeles Median Monthly Rent and Year-over-Year Change, January to August 2026
| Month | Los Angeles median | Los Angeles year over year | U.S. year over year |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | $2,075 | -1.3% | -0.8% |
| July 2026 | $2,069 | -1.4% | -1.0% |
| June 2026 | $2,070 | -1.4% | -1.2% |
| May 2026 | $2,068 | -1.5% | -1.4% |
| April 2026 | $2,061 | -2.1% | -1.6% |
| March 2026 | $2,051 | -2.4% | -1.6% |
| February 2026 | $2,044 | -2.1% | -1.4% |
| January 2026 | $2,039 | -1.6% | -1.3% |
Source: Apartment List analysis of its monthly rent estimates, overall median, August 2026 data release.
The four months before that were the fall decline. Los Angeles's overall median fell from $2,103 in September to $2,047 in December 2025, according to Apartment List's estimates, and ran 0.2% to 1.2% below year-earlier levels.
Los Angeles Median Monthly Rent and Year-over-Year Change, September to December 2025
| Month | Los Angeles median | Los Angeles year over year | U.S. year over year |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | $2,047 | -1.2% | -1.2% |
| November 2025 | $2,070 | -0.6% | -1.1% |
| October 2025 | $2,094 | -0.2% | -0.9% |
| September 2025 | $2,103 | -0.3% | -0.9% |
Source: Apartment List analysis of its monthly rent estimates, overall median, August 2026 data release.
About $138 a month, or 6.3%. Los Angeles's overall median rent peaked at about $2,213 in August 2022 and stood at $2,075 in August 2026, according to Apartment List's analysis of its monthly rent estimates. That is 1.3% above the pre-pandemic high of about $2,048 in October 2019. The median fell 10.2% between February 2020 and January 2021, passed its 2019 level again in September 2021, reached the 2022 peak, and has declined since.
The available share is up from a year ago, and apartments that lease are taking longer. In August 2026, 5.79% of units in the Los Angeles apartment buildings covered by Apartment List's Vacancy Index were listed as available, up from 5.55% a year earlier. Apartments that leased in August 2026 had been listed for a median of 30.7 days, according to Apartment List's time-on-market data, up from 26.8 days in August 2025 and the longest August in that series, which began in 2019.
Listing Time and Available Share, Los Angeles and U.S., August 2025 and August 2026
| Measure | Los Angeles, August 2025 | Los Angeles, August 2026 | U.S., August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median days listed before leasing | 26.8 days | 30.7 days | 31.7 days |
| Share of apartments listed as available | 5.55% | 5.79% | 7.08% |
Source: Apartment List, time-on-market data and Vacancy Index, August 2026.
Listing times have run above their 2019 to 2025 averages in every month of 2026, and February's 36.8 days was the longest in the series. Ask about availability and the application timeline when you arrange a tour.
Fall and winter, if price matters most. Los Angeles's overall median rent ended January below the previous September in eight of the nine fall-to-winter periods from 2017-18 through 2025-26, according to Apartment List's analysis of its monthly estimates. The declines ranged from 0.4% to 3.6%; the exception was September 2021 to January 2022, when the median rose 1.8%. The most recent decline was 3.0%, from September 2025 to January 2026.
Summer. Apartment List's time-on-market data, averaged over 2019 to 2025, shows Los Angeles apartments that leased in August had been listed for a median of 23.8 days, against 32.1 days for apartments that leased in January. January's median exceeded August's in each of those seven years.
Los Angeles Seasonal Listing Times, 2019 to 2025
| Apartments leased in | Average monthly median listing time |
|---|---|
| January | 32.1 days |
| August | 23.8 days |
Source: Apartment List analysis of its time-on-market data, Los Angeles city, 2019 to 2025.
Those figures describe apartments that already leased, not how long a listing you are looking at will stay open.
Inglewood. It had the lowest overall, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom medians of the 31 Los Angeles metro area cities in Apartment List's August 2026 estimates, at $1,677, $1,399, and $1,812. Seven cities had a lower one-bedroom median than Los Angeles's $1,856, all of them in Los Angeles County, and all seven had lower overall medians than a year earlier.
Los Angeles County Cities With a Lower One-Bedroom Median Than Los Angeles, August 2026
| City | All sizes | One-bedroom | Two-bedroom | Change in overall median from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inglewood, CA | $1,677 | $1,399 | $1,812 | -3.0% |
| Pomona, CA | $1,906 | $1,525 | $1,925 | -5.1% |
| Long Beach, CA | $1,795 | $1,604 | $1,965 | -0.6% |
| West Covina, CA | $2,145 | $1,651 | $2,220 | -0.4% |
| Monrovia, CA | $2,107 | $1,692 | $2,227 | -4.6% |
| Burbank, CA | $2,091 | $1,789 | $2,409 | -1.0% |
| Glendale, CA | $2,148 | $1,850 | $2,380 | -2.7% |
Source: Apartment List rent estimates, August 2026. Cities sorted by one-bedroom median; each row covers that city's own boundaries.
The other seven Los Angeles County cities with estimates had higher one-bedroom medians than Los Angeles, from Santa Clarita ($1,971) to Calabasas ($3,012), according to Apartment List's August 2026 estimates.
Los Angeles and Los Angeles County Cities With a Higher One-Bedroom Median, August 2026
| City | All sizes | One-bedroom | Two-bedroom | Change in overall median from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | $2,075 | $1,856 | $2,367 | -1.3% |
| Santa Clarita, CA | $2,426 | $1,971 | $2,399 | -3.2% |
| West Hollywood, CA | $2,208 | $2,047 | $2,658 | +0.5% |
| Torrance, CA | $2,542 | $2,126 | $2,685 | +1.6% |
| Pasadena, CA | $2,514 | $2,154 | $2,772 | -0.9% |
| Santa Monica, CA | $2,383 | $2,255 | $2,704 | -3.4% |
| Culver City, CA | $2,906 | $2,630 | $3,115 | -1.5% |
| Calabasas, CA | $3,380 | $3,012 | $3,314 | +1.3% |
Source: Apartment List rent estimates, August 2026. Cities sorted by one-bedroom median; each row covers that city's own boundaries.
All 16 Orange County cities in the metro area had higher one-bedroom medians than Los Angeles, from Santa Ana ($1,950) to Newport Beach ($2,863), according to Apartment List's August 2026 estimates. Thirteen of the 16 had higher overall medians than a year earlier, while 12 of the 15 Los Angeles County cities had lower. For the newest monthly figures and the full list of metro cities, see Apartment List's Los Angeles rent report, which updates each month.
A higher citywide median doesn't necessarily mean higher rent for the apartment size you need, because the overall median pools all apartment sizes while the bedroom medians describe separate groups. West Covina shows the difference: its overall median of $2,145 was above Los Angeles's $2,075, but its one-bedroom median was $205 lower and its two-bedroom median $147 lower.
Inglewood is southwest of downtown, next to the airport; Long Beach is on the coast to the south; Pomona, West Covina, and Monrovia are east of the city; Burbank and Glendale are just north of downtown. Whether a lower rent works for you also depends on where you need to go regularly.
Use Apartment List's August 2026 medians for Los Angeles, $1,856 for a one-bedroom and $2,367 for a two-bedroom, to set a price reference, then compare what apartments in that range actually offer.
For example, a Los Angeles one-bedroom listed at $2,100 would be $244 above Apartment List's August 2026 one-bedroom median of $1,856. Its condition, location, lease terms, required monthly charges, and included utilities can help you judge whether that difference is worthwhile.
If your moving date is flexible, include fall and winter listings in your search; if it is fixed, compare the apartments available when you need to move.
Build a shortlist of places that meet your needs and compare their total monthly costs side by side. That gives you a practical next step: deciding which apartments deserve a tour and what to ask before applying.
Explore apartments in Los Angeles
For help fitting rent into your broader budget, see our Los Angeles cost of living guide.
Rent, vacancy, and listing-time figures on this page come from Apartment List's August 2026 data release, published in September 2026. Earlier months are shown as revised in that release.
Data Sources and Calculation Methods Behind This Page
| Source or method | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Rent estimates | Median rent on new leases signed in the month. |
| Vacancy Index | Share of units listed as available in buildings of 10 or more units that list on Apartment List. |
| Listing time | Median days from first listing to lease, for apartments leased in the month. |
| Historical rent figures | Medians before August 2026 are chained backward from $2,075 using Apartment List's published monthly changes. The series begins in 2017. |
| Seasonal comparisons | September-to-January changes in that series, nine periods from 2017-18 through 2025-26. |
| Geographic scope | City figures cover Los Angeles only. Metro figures cover Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, which includes the city and Orange County. |
| Rankings | The 100 largest U.S. cities by population. |
| National Rent Report | Nationwide rent figures, August 2026. |
All three data series are published on Apartment List's data and rent estimates page.
Apartment List's Rent Index puts Los Angeles's median rent at $2,075 in August 2026 across all apartment sizes, and $1,856 for a one-bedroom. Apartment List reports the median, the midpoint of new-lease rents signed in the month, so a figure another source labels an average rent is not directly comparable.
Using 30% of gross household income as a starting point for rent alone, Apartment List's August 2026 Los Angeles median rent of $2,075 works out to an income of about $83,000 a year. The $1,856 one-bedroom median works out to about $74,000 and the $2,367 two-bedroom median to about $95,000. Utilities and other housing costs need additional room in that budget. For the broader budget, see our Los Angeles cost of living guide.
About $27 a month. Apartment List's estimates put Los Angeles's overall median rent at about $2,102 in August 2025 and $2,075 in August 2026, a decrease of 1.3%.
Barely. Compared with March 2020, Los Angeles's median rent was 2.7% higher in August 2026, while the national median was 19.7% higher, according to Apartment List, in dollar terms without adjusting for inflation. Among the 100 largest U.S. cities, only Oakland, Portland, Austin, and Minneapolis had smaller changes over that period. Los Angeles's small net change includes the pandemic decline, the rebound to the August 2022 peak, and the decline since.
The city figure covers the City of Los Angeles; the metro figure covers the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area, which includes the city and Orange County. In August 2026, according to Apartment List's estimates, Los Angeles's overall median of $2,075 was 5.7% below the metro's $2,200, while its one-bedroom median was 1.8% below the metro's and its two-bedroom median 0.4% above. Because the metro figure includes the city, it says nothing on its own about what any one surrounding city costs.
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