In the post-Palisades housing economy, Santa Monica's rental market is showing strong growth in early 2025, with median rents increasing by 1.1% in February, according to the latest Apartment List March 2025 Rent Report. This growth has pushed the overall median rent in the city to $2,527, marking a 2.9% increase year-over-year.
The city's rental growth rate has exceeded both state and national averages. While California as a whole has seen a 1.6% increase in rents over the past year, the national average has actually declined by 0.4% during the same period.
Santa Monica's rental market appears to be accelerating compared to last year. Two months into 2025, rents have risen 1.1%, which stands in contrast to the same period in 2024 when rents had decreased by 0.5% from January to February.
The premium for living in Santa Monica continues to be substantial when compared to the broader Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city's median rent is 15.4% higher than the metro-wide median of $2,189. While rent growth across the entire metro area stands at just 0.8% annually, Santa Monica's 2.9% increase demonstrates stronger demand for housing in the beachside city.
According to Zumper's Los Angeles Metro Area Report, Santa Monica ranks as the second most expensive city in the region, with one-bedroom apartments commanding a median price of $3,200. Only Beverly Hills surpasses Santa Monica, with one-bedroom units priced at $3,630.
Across the Los Angeles metro area, rental trends vary significantly by location, definition of “metro area” and the individual ranking agency. Apartment List data has a different top spot showing Newport Beach is currently the most expensive city in the metro area with a median rent of $3,272, while Long Beach is the most affordable at $1,729.
Growth rates also differ dramatically throughout the region. Pomona is experiencing the fastest annual rent growth at 4.9%, while Long Beach has seen rents decline by 2.3%, making it both the slowest-growing and most affordable major city in the region.
Zumper's analysis reveals that Beverly Hills not only commands the highest rents but also saw the fastest annual growth, with prices jumping a remarkable 22.6% compared to last year. Other cities experiencing rapid rent increases include Santa Clarita (10% year-over-year) and Costa Mesa (9.6%).
Month-to-month data shows Huntington Beach experienced the largest short-term growth, with rents increasing 4.3% in February alone, followed by Fullerton (2.4%) and Burbank (1.8%).
The least expensive rental markets in the region, according to Zumper, include San Bernardino, where one-bedrooms are priced at $1,450, followed by Riverside at $1,810, and Long Beach at $1,850.
While the Palisades Fire’s displacement of residents will continue to have a huge impact on the area’s housing market, Apartment List said that 2024’s overall rental picture showed repercussions from Covid are finally settling.
According to Apartment List's 2025 Renter Migration Report, the sharp shifts in population movement seen during the height of the pandemic have begun to stabilize. Overall migration has slowed somewhat, as did long-distance moves to a new state or a new metropolitan area. The share of renters looking to move to a new metro or a new state stabilized in 2024, with 39 percent of Apartment List users searching in a different metro, in line with 2023 but down a few percentage points from 2021.
Despite this stabilization, the data showed California continues to experience significant domestic outmigration. Census data shows that from 2023 to 2024, approximately 240,000 more people moved out of California than moved into it from other states.
Despite this domestic exodus, California's overall population still grew by about 233,000 people, thanks to international migration (a net gain of 361,000) and natural growth (110,000 more births than deaths).
For those leaving California, Texas has emerged as the top destination, receiving 12.4% of outbound rental searches from California residents in 2024, an increase from 11% the previous year. Nevada and Arizona rank second and third as destinations for Californians looking to relocate.
Florida—which had been gaining popularity among departing Californians—saw its share of California's outbound searches drop from 5.3% in 2023 to 4.2% in 2024. Washington and Colorado rounded out the top five destinations for Californians looking to move.
These migration trends reflect broader national patterns favoring the Sunbelt and Mountain West regions. Census data shows that states with large, dense, and expensive urban centers continue to lose population to areas offering more affordable housing. In absolute terms, California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts had the largest net domestic migration outflows between 2023 and 2024.
At the other end of the spectrum, Texas, North and South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee have gained the largest population from domestic migration. In Texas, net domestic migration totaled +85,000, and coupled with positive international migration (+320,000), and positive natural growth (+229,000), the state grew by more than one-half million people between 2023 and 2024.
For the Los Angeles region specifically, the migration data from Apartment List shows that many surrounding metro areas are receiving significant interest from renters looking to relocate. The Carolinas account for 4 of the 10 metros attracting the most interest from out-of-towners, with Durham, NC topping the list with 65 percent of searches coming from out-of-towners, followed by Charleston, SC at 62 percent.
