San Francisco Rents Cheaper Now Than in 2020

San Francisco’s famously high apartment rents are roughly $500 lower now than at the start of the pandemic three years ago, writes Marcus White in the San Francisco Examiner, the only metro area with over 1 million residents with lower rents now than in 2020.

However, “San Francisco remained firmly entrenched as the second-most expensive city behind New York in March, with a median one-bedroom apartment costing $3,000 and a two-bedroom place costing $4,000.” Rents in other Bay Area cities, meanwhile, remained flat or rose since 2020.

Despite the apparent relief, White notes, renting a one-bedroom apartment without becoming rent-burdened requires an income of over $120,000. But when “Nearly 39% of households [in the city] make no more than $99,000,” affordable housing remains out of reach for many residents.