Renting in Evergreen, San Jose: What You Will Pay and Where to Look in 2026

Evergreen sits in San Jose's southeastern foothills, and it does not feel much like the rest of the city. The streets are quieter, the views are greener, and most of what you see is single-family housing built around parks and schools. That makes it one of the South Bay's most pleasant places to live, and one of its trickier rental markets to crack. Apartment stock is thin, a lot of rentals are individually owned condos and houses, and listings move fast because families tend to stay put once they land here.

This guide covers what you'll actually pay to rent in Evergreen in 2026, which pockets of the neighborhood to search, what the commute really looks like, and how to compete for the limited inventory.

Where Evergreen actually is

Evergreen covers the area roughly east of Highway 101 and south of Tully Road, running up into the foothills of the Diablo Range. The core zip codes are 95121, 95135, and 95148, plus a slice of 95138 toward Silver Creek. Aborn Road and San Felipe Road are the main spines, and Capitol Expressway connects the neighborhood back to 101 and the rest of San Jose.

The center of gravity is Evergreen Village Square, a walkable plaza off San Felipe Road with restaurants, a coffee shop, and a seasonal farmers market. Lake Cunningham Park, with its skate park and lake loop, anchors the northern edge near Tully. Evergreen Valley College and Evergreen Valley High School, one of the stronger public high schools in San Jose, are both in the neighborhood, which is a big part of why families compete hard for rentals here.

What rent costs in Evergreen in 2026

Evergreen apartments average right around $3,000 per month in early 2026, based on RentCafe's tracking, up modestly from last year. That is a touch below the San Jose citywide apartment average of roughly $3,250. The catch is that the average hides how compressed the market is: most Evergreen apartments cluster between $2,500 and $3,000, with about a third above $3,000 and very little below $2,500.

Here is what to expect by unit type, based on current listings across 95121, 95135, and 95148:

• Studios and small one bedrooms: $2,100 to $2,400. Many of these are in-law units or private suites in houses rather than traditional apartment buildings, often around 650 to 700 square feet.
• One bedrooms in apartment communities: $2,400 to $2,800. Inventory is limited because there are only a handful of larger complexes.
• Two bedroom apartments: $2,850 to $3,400. Communities like San Marino on Aborn Road and The Carlyle on Nieman Boulevard typically list two bedrooms from about $2,950 to $3,150. Condos in The Villages area run $2,840 to $3,400.
• Townhouses and single-family homes: $3,800 to $5,500 for most three and four bedroom rentals, and well above that in Silver Creek Valley's gated sections, where large homes can list from $6,000 up.

For comparison, Zumper's mid-2026 data puts the citywide San Jose median at about $2,670 for a one bedroom and $3,390 for a two bedroom. Evergreen one bedrooms often undercut that median slightly, while its houses cost more than the city norm because the housing stock skews large and new.

The pockets to know

Evergreen Village Square area

If you want the most walkable version of Evergreen, search within a mile of the Village Square on San Felipe Road. You'll find condos and townhomes from the 1990s and 2000s, plus newer small complexes. Two bedroom condos here generally run $2,900 to $3,400. You can walk to dinner, coffee, and the farmers market, which is rare for this side of San Jose.

Aborn and San Felipe corridor

This is where most of Evergreen's true apartment inventory sits, including San Marino on Aborn Road. Expect $2,900 to $3,200 for a two bedroom with parking and a pool. It is the most practical choice if you want an on-site manager and a standard 12-month lease rather than renting from an individual condo owner.

Silver Creek and Silver Creek Valley

South of Yerba Buena Road, Silver Creek Valley is the upscale end: gated communities, a country club, and big views. Rentals are mostly single-family homes and larger townhouses, commonly $4,500 to $7,000 or more. If you see a surprisingly cheap listing here, read it closely. It is often a room or a guest suite, not a whole home.

The Villages

The Villages Golf and Country Club, off San Felipe Road in 95135, is a 55-plus community. Condos here list around $2,800 to $3,400 for two bedrooms, which looks like a bargain until you note the age restriction. At least one resident usually must be 55 or older, so verify eligibility before you tour.

Near Lake Cunningham and Tully

The northern edge, in 95121 and 95148 toward Tully Road, has older housing stock and some of the neighborhood's more affordable rentals, including duplexes and in-law units in the $2,100 to $2,600 range. You trade some polish for price, and you gain quicker access to Capitol Expressway, Eastridge Mall, and the VTA light rail at Eastridge.

The commute, honestly

Evergreen is a driving neighborhood. There is no Caltrain, no BART, and no light rail inside the neighborhood itself. VTA buses run along Aborn, San Felipe, and Capitol Expressway, and the Rapid 522 line and light rail at the Eastridge Transit Center connect toward downtown, but most transit trips involve at least one transfer and add real time.

By car, plan on these ranges outside of the worst peak windows:

• Downtown San Jose: 15 to 25 minutes via Capitol Expressway and 280 or 101.
• North San Jose tech campuses: 20 to 35 minutes via 101 or 680.
• Santa Clara and Sunnyvale: 25 to 40 minutes.
• Palo Alto or Mountain View: 30 to 45 minutes on a good day, and over an hour at 8 a.m. on 101.

If your office is on the Peninsula and you commute five days a week, weigh that 101 slog seriously. Evergreen makes the most sense for people working in San Jose proper, the 680 corridor, or hybrid schedules where two bad commutes a week is an acceptable trade for foothill views and quiet streets.

Why inventory is tight, and how to compete

Evergreen has far fewer apartment buildings per capita than central San Jose. Most rentals are one-off condos, townhomes, and houses owned by individual landlords, and many never hit the big listing sites for long. That has three practical consequences.

First, move quickly. A well-priced two bedroom near Evergreen Village Square can go in a weekend. Have your documents ready before you tour: photo ID, recent pay stubs or an offer letter, and a credit report you can share. California caps application fees, but you'll still save money and stress by applying only to places you'd actually take.

Second, expect individual-owner quirks. Condo rentals often come with HOA rules on parking, pets, and move-in times that the owner may not volunteer. Ask for the HOA rules in writing before you sign, especially about guest parking, which is tightly controlled in many Evergreen complexes.

Third, widen your search radius slightly. If Evergreen inventory is dry the week you're looking, the adjacent Silver Creek, East San Jose near Lake Cunningham, and south toward Edenvale often have comparable units for $100 to $300 less, and you keep a similar commute profile.

Who Evergreen fits best

Rent here if you want top-tier public schools, quiet streets, parks like Lake Cunningham and Montgomery Hill within a short drive, and you either work in San Jose or can tolerate a car commute. The neighborhood is one of the most diverse in the city, and the food along Aborn and at the Village Square reflects it.

Look elsewhere if you want nightlife, transit-first living, or the cheapest possible rent in San Jose. Downtown and Japantown beat Evergreen on all three. And if you love the foothill feel but need light rail, check North San Jose or the Berryessa BART area instead.

One more note on timing: Evergreen listings peak in late spring and summer, when families move between school years. If you can time your lease to start in fall or winter, you'll face less competition and have a bit more room to negotiate, particularly with individual condo owners facing a vacant unit in November.

Iris searches across listing sites and individually posted rentals in real time, so you can see Evergreen condos, in-law units, and apartment availability in one place and get alerted the moment something in your budget hits the market. That speed matters more in Evergreen than almost anywhere else in San Jose.