The median rent in Santa Monica fell to $2,302 in May, dropping 1% over the past month and 8.8% over the past year, according to the Apartment List May 2026 Rent Report.
The report shows median asking rents of $2,179 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,612 for a two-bedroom unit. The citywide apartment vacancy rate stands at 5.3%, up 1.4 percentage points from the same time last year.
Santa Monica's annual rent decline of 8.8% trails both California's statewide growth of 0.4% and the national figure of -1.7%. Among 29 cities tracked in the Los Angeles metro area, Santa Monica posted the slowest annual rent growth, while Aliso Viejo led the metro at 6.9%. Newport Beach remained the metro's most expensive city at a $3,418 median, and Long Beach the most affordable at $1,769.
Four months into 2026, rents in the coastal city have fallen 3% year-to-date, a sharper drop than the 1.9% increase recorded over the same January-to-April stretch in 2025.
A year-over-year comparison shows softening across nearly every measure of the local rental market. Apartment List's overall median asking rent stood near $2,533 in April 2025, after briefly peaking at $2,527 in March of that year — a 2.9% annual gain at the time, driven largely by displacement demand following the January 2025 Palisades Fire, which destroyed more than 6,800 structures in adjacent Pacific Palisades. By April 2026, the median had fallen to $2,328, an 8.1% annual decline and the steepest of any city in the Los Angeles metro.
Other data providers tracked similar drops. Zumper's average one-bedroom rent fell roughly 12% year-over-year to $2,725 in February, while its two-bedroom average slid 8% to 9% to $4,390. RentHop reported a 4% annual decline in one-bedroom averages.
The luxury segment told a different story. RentCafe, which surveys only properties of 50 units or more, recorded a one-bedroom average of $3,541 in March, down just 0.4% from a year earlier. Its two-bedroom average rose 1.4% to $4,432 — the only major segment posting gains.
Vacancy has loosened in tandem. Apartment List pegged Santa Monica's apartment vacancy at 5.2% in December 2025, up from 4.5% a year earlier. The broader Los Angeles metro multifamily vacancy rate hit 5.6% in the first quarter of 2026, an 80-basis-point increase, according to Kidder Mathews.
Concessions have become widespread. Roughly 40% of national listings were offering free rent or waived fees in March, the highest March share Apartment List has on record, up from about 30% of Los Angeles-area listings a year earlier.
Santa Monica's rent-controlled housing stock, which is governed by the city's Rent Control Board, also reflected the cooler environment. The board's annual General Adjustment for September 2025 was set at 2.3%, capped at $60 a month, down from a 3% adjustment capped at $76 in September 2024. Rent-controlled inventory dipped slightly, from 27,668 units at the end of 2024 to 27,589 units at the end of 2025, a net loss of 79 units attributed to Ellis Act withdrawals and demolitions.
Rents in Santa Monica remain 5.6% above the Los Angeles metro median of $2,180, but the city's premium has narrowed considerably. Once the metro's second-most-expensive city, Santa Monica now sits behind several Westside neighbors. Brentwood one-bedrooms run $2,900 to $3,200, Venice $2,800 to $3,500, and Culver City $2,700 to $3,100, while Mar Vista offers a relative bargain at $2,300 to $2,600.
The Real Deal characterized the broader trajectory as a three-year decline bringing housing costs near pre-pandemic levels. After surging roughly 12% in 2021 and 9% in 2022, Santa Monica rents have posted three consecutive annual declines, including a 5.9% drop in 2023 and a 1.1% drop in 2024.
Listing data shows rent ranges in the city now span from about $1,895 for studios in the Pico and Sunset Park neighborhoods to more than $20,000 a month for luxury four-bedroom oceanfront units. Roughly 36% of active listings rent for between $1,501 and $3,000, while another 32% sit above $4,500.
Apartment List's methodology draws on U.S. Census Bureau data extrapolated forward using a same-unit growth rate calculated from current listings.