San Francisco rents continued to break records in August, growing 2.9% over July, according to Zumper’s latest report. The meteoric rise puts its $4,300 median one-bedroom rent at an all-time high, poised to soon overtake New York City as the nation’s most expensive rental market. But for Californians, a more startling finding may be that it now costs nearly double to rent a one-bedroom in San Francisco as it does in Los Angeles.
Prices in San Francisco are up almost 26% from the same time last year, while rents in Los Angeles have come down 4% since August 2025. At that time, the gap between the two cities was narrower — about two-thirds — and for it to widen so much in a year is “kind of nuts,” said Crystal Chen, a housing expert at Zumper.
Chen said there are a few factors contributing to LA’s declining prices. The city has had a lot of new housing completed in the past few years while encountering a slower job market. The entertainment industry has been in a prolonged slump, which could be contributing to declining prices, Chen said…