The U.S. City with the Highest Median Rent is....

If you guessed the Big Apple, you'd be wrong. It's the City by the Bay with a median rent of $1,463; New York City had the fifth highest at $1,187. San Jose, Boston, and Washington, D.C. were ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.

2 minute read

November 15, 2013, 6:00 AM PST

By Irvin Dawid


San Francisco, a city where "63.6 percent of all units are occupied by renters... has the highest median rent among the nation’s largest cities, beating New York handily, according to data from 2010 to 2012 released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, reports Examiner staff writer Jonah Owen Lamb.

San Francisco is the 14th-largest city in the country, with roughly 825,000 residents as of 2012, and it beat out every larger city in the U.S., and a handful of other high-rent locales, when it comes to median rents: $1,463.

The highest median rent, though, is not a measure of housing affordability, which looks at income as well. In San Francisco, "rents equaling 35 percent or more of household income only applied to 37.6 percent of rental units", writes Lamb. By contrast, Los Angeles, where median rent was $1,159, a whopping 52.7 percent of rental units paid 35 percent or more of their household income to rents," he adds.

While not the most unaffordable city in terms of rental costs, it ranked as the highest concern among San Francisco residents in a September survey, with "50 percent of those polled [citing] the affordability of living in The City as their No. 1 concern," writes Lamb.

The survey is based on "data from 2010 to 2012 released today [Nov. 14] by the U.S. Census Bureau." It was "released as part of the 2012 annual American Community Survey's three-year look at housing data," Lamb writes.

Thursday, November 14, 2013 in The San Francisco Examiner

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

3 hours ago - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Red SF Muni ticketing machine.

San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time

A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.

15 minutes ago - San Francisco Examiner

Electric car charging station with several Chevy Bolts charging in parking lot of store in Bellingham, Washington

Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth

Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.

1 hour ago - GovTech

Top view new development riverside residential and commercial neighborhood with vacant land in Texas, USA.

Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas

Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.

2 hours ago - The Texas Tribune

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.