San Diego’s status as one of the nation’s most expensive rental markets is on shaky ground.

The median rent for a San Diego County one-bedroom apartment was $2,220 a month in January, down 5.5% in a year, said Zumper’s national rent report. That ranks San Diego metro at No. 9 in the real estate website’s priciest markets — down from No. 7 for the better part of two years post-pandemic.

As recently as November 2023, San Diego metro was still in the top seven but was slowly falling, hitting No. 10 to start last year before bouncing back slightly.

The priciest market in January was New York, with a median one-bedroom rent of $4,320 a month. It was followed by San Francisco, at $3,670 a month, and Jersey City, at $3,000 a month.

“The U.S. rental market is largely frozen right now,” said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades, “caught between elevated economic uncertainty and the normal seasonal slowdown we see in the winter months.”

National rents are down 2% annually but Zumper said Southern California is seeing more of a slowdown because of increased supply. San Diego County is expected to deliver 3,670 new apartments this year, said real estate tracker CoStar. That’s down from 6,176 in 2025, but still above historical averages.

Recent studies from Apartment List and others have noted increased supply as one factor behind softer rent growth, but also cited a weaker job market and general economic uncertainty as reasons why landlords aren’t getting higher rents. A statement from the White House earlier this week claimed that President Donald Trump was to thank for “real, immediate relief to American families” as rents have fallen.

In Zumper’s list of 100 metros, the least expensive place to rent an apartment was Wichita, Kan., in January with a median of $710 a month for a one-bedroom unit.

Rent prices can vary a lot throughout San Diego County based on size and location. Zumper breaks down data by city so there isn’t, say, a distinction between downtown San Diego and North Park.

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