Average Rent in San Mateo County by City (2026)

San Mateo County is the narrowest, most expensive stretch of the Bay Area rental map, and the averages you find online hide how much it changes from one Caltrain stop to the next. A one-bedroom in Daly City and a one-bedroom in Menlo Park are roughly 20 minutes apart on Highway 101 and about $1,100 a month apart in price.

Here is what every rental market in the county actually costs in 2026, where the numbers are misleading, and how to read them before you start touring.

San Mateo County average rent in 2026: the quick version

Countywide, the average apartment rent sits in the $3,400 to $3,700 range in 2026, depending on which data source you use and whether single-family rentals are included. Rent growth is running around 4 percent year over year, which is slower than the double-digit swings of a few years ago but still faster than wages for most renters.

Vacancy is the real story. Class B and C buildings (older, smaller, non-luxury) are posting vacancy at or below 3 percent across most of the county. That means the cheaper half of the market is the tight half. If you are hunting in the $2,500 to $3,200 range, you are competing with everyone else hunting in the $2,500 to $3,200 range, and you should expect to move fast.

Average rent by city, most expensive to least

These are 2026 figures drawn from RentCafe, Zumper, and Zillow rental data. Treat them as ranges, not quotes. Actual asking rents move month to month and vary enormously by building age.

Menlo Park: roughly $4,500 to $4,700 overall

The most expensive rental market in the county. One-bedrooms average around $3,780 and two-bedrooms around $5,180. You are paying for the Sand Hill Road and Meta proximity, excellent schools, and very little new rental supply. Downtown Menlo Park near the Caltrain station and Santa Cruz Avenue commands the top of the range. If you want the address without the number, look at the Belle Haven side east of 101, which runs noticeably cheaper.

San Carlos: roughly $3,900 to $4,000 overall

One of the few cities in the county where rents actually dipped in 2026, down about 3 percent year over year, mostly because several new buildings delivered near the Caltrain station at once. That is unusual here and worth exploiting. San Carlos gives you a genuinely walkable downtown on Laurel Street, a Caltrain stop with Baby Bullet service, and quieter residential streets up in the White Oaks and Howard Park areas.

Redwood City: roughly $3,750 overall

Studios average about $2,400, one-bedrooms about $3,440, and two-bedrooms about $4,460. Redwood City has the widest internal spread of any city on this list. Downtown, around Broadway and the Caltrain station, runs about 3 percent above the city average, with one-bedrooms near $3,730. Redwood Shores, out east past 101 on the lagoons, comes in lower at around $2,980 for a one-bedroom, but you give up transit access and inherit a car-dependent commute.

East Palo Alto: roughly $3,760 for apartments

Worth separating from Palo Alto, which is in Santa Clara County and not part of this list at all. East Palo Alto's apartment average looks high because it is driven by newer complexes near the Ravenswood and University Avenue corridor. One-bedrooms in older stock average closer to $2,620, which is among the best per-square-foot value anywhere on this side of the Bay. East Palo Alto also has a local rent stabilization ordinance, which matters a great deal if you plan to stay more than a year.

San Mateo: roughly $3,600 to $3,780 overall

Studios around $2,900, one-bedrooms around $3,300, two-bedrooms around $4,290. San Mateo is the practical middle of the county and the most common landing spot for people who want real amenities without Menlo Park pricing. Downtown near B Street and the Caltrain station is the premium pocket. Hayward Park and Hillsdale, both with their own Caltrain stops, trade a little walkability for a few hundred dollars a month. North Central runs cheapest.

Brisbane: roughly $3,590 overall

Small market, few buildings, so the average swings. One-bedrooms run about $3,200 and two-bedrooms about $3,970. Brisbane is the closest San Mateo County city to San Francisco proper and sits right off 101, which makes it a reasonable pick if you work in SoMa or Mission Bay but want more space. The tradeoff is thin inventory and almost no walkable retail.

South San Francisco: roughly $3,565 overall

The biotech corridor keeps demand steady, and rent growth here has been among the fastest in the county at above 6 percent in the South San Francisco, San Bruno, and Millbrae submarket. The East of 101 side is where the labs and newer apartments are. Sunshine Gardens and Buri Buri, up the hill on the west side, are older and cheaper and put you within walking distance of BART.

San Bruno: roughly $3,200 overall

Studios start around $2,700 and two-bedrooms reach about $3,850, up roughly 3.7 percent year over year. San Bruno is one of the better transit values in the county: BART, Caltrain, and a short drive to SFO. The flip side is aircraft noise on the approach path, which is very real in parts of Belle Air and the flats near El Camino. Walk the block at 7am before you sign.

Pacifica: roughly $3,120 overall

One-bedrooms around $2,880 and two-bedrooms around $3,470, up about 6 percent year over year. You are on the coast, which means fog nine months a year in Sharp Park and Linda Mar and a Highway 1 commute through Devil's Slide that is beautiful and occasionally slow. Rockaway Beach and Vallemar sit in the sunnier pockets. Pacifica is the only place in the county where you can rent within walking distance of a surf break for under $3,000.

Burlingame: one-bedrooms around $2,750

Burlingame's overall apartment average lands higher, in the $3,400 to $3,600 range, because the newer buildings near Burlingame Avenue skew it upward. But the older mid-century fourplexes and small buildings in the Burlingame Park and Easton Addition areas genuinely rent in the high $2,000s for a one-bedroom, which is one of the best deals on the Peninsula for what you get: a real downtown, two Caltrain stops, and tree-lined streets.

Foster City: roughly $2,800 to $3,200 overall

One-bedrooms land around $3,150. Foster City is planned, quiet, and built around lagoons, with large complexes rather than small buildings. Good value for space and parking. The catch is that there is no Caltrain station, so you are driving to Hillsdale or taking SamTrans, and the 92 to 101 interchange is a genuine bottleneck at rush hour.

Daly City: roughly $2,770 overall

Studios about $2,300, one-bedrooms about $2,670, two-bedrooms about $3,150. Daly City is the cheapest meaningful rental market in the county and it is also the fastest rising, up about 9 percent year over year as renters priced out of San Francisco move one city south. Westlake and Serramonte have the most apartment inventory. Two BART stations (Daly City and Colma) put you downtown in about 20 minutes. Expect fog and expect competition.

Millbrae and Belmont: median asking rents around $2,600 to $2,700

These two deserve an asterisk, which brings us to the most important thing on this page.

Why the cheapest numbers on this list are the least trustworthy

Millbrae and Belmont show up at the bottom of most 2026 rent tables, below Daly City, which does not match what anyone actually touring those cities experiences. The reason is methodology.

RentCafe and similar sources average asking rents from large professionally managed apartment complexes. Zillow and Zumper medians pull from all listings, including single-family homes, condos, duplexes, and in-law units. Millbrae and Belmont have very few large complexes and a lot of small older buildings and rented houses, so their medians get pulled down by a different kind of inventory, not by genuinely cheap apartments.

In practice, a modern one-bedroom near the Millbrae BART and Caltrain station (the only transfer point between the two systems in the entire county, and a direct ride to SFO) rents closer to $3,200 or $3,300. A Belmont one-bedroom in the flats near El Camino runs in the high $2,000s, while anything up the hill toward Belmont Heights with a view costs considerably more.

The practical rule: when a city's number looks implausibly low relative to its neighbors, the data is describing a different housing stock, not a bargain. Check the actual listing count before you get excited.

What this means for your search

A few patterns are worth acting on in 2026.

• The north county is where the growth is. Daly City, South San Francisco, San Bruno, and Millbrae are all rising faster than the county average because they absorb San Francisco spillover. If you are considering them, the number you see today is likely lower than the number you will see at renewal.

• The mid-Peninsula has the most new supply. San Carlos and Redwood City both got new buildings near Caltrain, and San Carlos rents actually fell. New construction is where concessions live: ask about free months, waived deposits, and parking.

• Older buildings are the tight market. With Class B and C vacancy under 3 percent, the sub-$3,000 one-bedroom is the hardest unit in the county to get. Have your documents ready before you tour, not after.

• One stop can save you $400. Hillsdale instead of downtown San Mateo. Belle Haven instead of downtown Menlo Park. Redwood Shores instead of downtown Redwood City. The savings are real, and the cost is usually transit access, so be honest about whether you will actually drive.

San Mateo County rewards renters who know exactly which three or four micro-areas fit their commute and budget, then move quickly when something opens. The countywide average is a starting point, not an answer.

Iris searches every Peninsula listing at once and filters by commute, budget, and the details that actually matter, so you can compare San Bruno against San Carlos without opening fifteen tabs.