More people are paying a premium for less space in Los Angeles apartments as population growth has returned to the region following a post-Covid dip, though Santa Monica is bucking the trend with declining rental prices.
According to the latest Zumper Los Angeles Metro Area Report, which analyzed active listings across metro cities last month, Santa Monica remains the second most expensive rental market in the region with median one-bedroom rents at $3,020. However, these prices are actually a good deal as they represent a 5.6 percent drop month-over-month and a 1.9 percent decline year-over-year. Two-bedroom units in Santa Monica currently command a median rent of $4,230, down 6 percent for the month and 0.2 percent for the year.
The findings come as the California one-bedroom median rent reached $2,067 last month, highlighting Santa Monica's position as a premium market despite the recent decreases.
Beverly Hills topped the list as the most expensive city with one-bedrooms priced at $3,410, while West Hollywood ranked third with median rents at $2,760. At the opposite end of the spectrum, San Bernardino was the most affordable city in the metro area with one-bedrooms priced at $1,460, followed by Palmdale at $1,550 and Riverside at $1,800.
The price fluctuations come amid a broader trend of shrinking apartment sizes across Los Angeles County. According to a recent RentCafe.com report, new apartments in Los Angeles now average just 789 square feet, making them the 16th smallest in the United States. Over the past decade, apartment sizes in the city have decreased by 30 square feet, a 4 percent reduction that reflects the shift toward more compact, efficient layouts in high-demand urban centers.
This downsizing trend is primarily driven by changes in unit mix and floor plans. Studios have lost approximately 26 square feet and now constitute only 19 percent of new units, down from 27 percent a decade ago. One-bedroom apartments, which have become the dominant layout representing 51 percent of new construction, have shrunk by 31 square feet.
Two-bedroom units have remained relatively stable in size, gaining just 4 square feet, though they are slightly less common than they were ten years ago. Three-bedroom apartments have seen a significant increase of 120 square feet but now make up only 3 percent of new units, down from 7 percent previously, making them increasingly rare options for larger households.
The rental market shifts occur against a backdrop of population growth throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area according to the U.S. Census Bureau. After experiencing a significant population decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a loss of more than 214,000 residents between 2020 and 2021, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area has rebounded, adding over 41,000 people between 2023 and 2024.
This population recovery mirrors trends seen in other major metropolitan areas across the United States. According to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population of U.S. metro areas collectively continued to increase in 2024, growing at 1.1 percent, slightly faster than the national rate of 1.0 percent.
The census data reveals that approximately 86 percent of Americans now reside in metropolitan areas, with nearly 294 million people calling these urban centers home as of July 1, 2024. About 88 percent of metro areas gained population between 2023 and 2024, a substantial increase from roughly 64 percent during the height of the pandemic between 2020 and 2021.
Experts attribute the metropolitan population rebound to increases in net international migration and rising natural increase—more births than deaths—which have offset net domestic outmigration from metro areas as a whole.
The New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan also turned around, losing nearly 277,000 people during 2020-2021 before becoming the nation's largest-gaining metro area between 2023 and 2024 with an addition of over 213,000 residents. Similarly, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area has reversed from losses of approximately 77,000 in 2020-2021 to gains of roughly 71,000 in 2023-2024.
