A new analysis of California’s rental market shows the state continues to rank near the bottom for renter-friendliness, despite modest gains in the Central Valley.
This month, RentCafe released rankings of the Best Cities for Renters in 2025. The researchers compared 150 U.S. cities using 20 key metrics, including apartment quality, economic strength, traffic, air quality, schools, and access to natural amenities. There were three main categories: 1) cost of living/housing 2) local economy 3) quality of life.
McKinney, TX, took the top spot nationally, followed by Sarasota, FL and Atlanta, GA. Southern U.S. states dominated the top 10.
California Renters Continue to Struggle
Twelve California cities made the list this year, but all of them ranked in the bottom two-thirds. These are the top California cities for renters, according to RentCafe:
San Diego (#95 nationally)
Oakland (#105 nationally)
Fresno (#112 nationally)
Sacramento (#125 nationally)
San Francisco (#135 nationally)
Riverside (#137 nationally)
Bakersfield (#140 nationally)
Los Angeles (#141 nationally)
San Jose (#142 nationally)
Stockton (#146 nationally)
Sunnyvale (#149 nationally)
Anaheim (#150 nationally)
RentCafe provided California City News with a summary of its findings, which included the following highlights:
7 out of 12 California cities experienced cost-of-living (COL) increases from 2024 to 2025. Sunnyvale is 126% above the national average; San Jose is 80% above the national average; and San Diego is 45.3%. Bucking this trend, San Francisco's COL dropped 4% to 66.7% above average. Los Angeles also saw a minor 0.2% decrease.
Sacramento and Stockton are no longer the more affordable alternatives they once were. COL in these cities is now 28.8% and 33.5% above average, respectively — up from 19%. Those represent the steepest COL increases in the state.
Job growth is down in California, particularly in big cities. Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Oakland, and Anaheim all recorded negative job growth last year.
Income growth is also down across most of the state. Tech hubs like San Francisco and Sunnyvale have been hard-hit, with renter incomes plummeting by over 12%.
Despite these hardships, ingenuity remains strong. Business applications increased in every city.
The Central Valley is faring better than the rest of the state. Fresno and Bakersfield were the only California cities to climb up on the renter-friendly rankings this year. The reason: robust job markets, rising incomes, expanding apartment inventory, and a growing population of highly educated residents. Fresno and Bakersfield also have the lowest COL in California.
List and rankings were compiled by RentCafe and do not reflect statistics on all cities.