Updated August 2026 | Scott Engle, Broker DRE #01332676, Corp DRE #02075336 | Realty Management Group | Managing San Diego County rentals since 2005
In North Park, one-bedroom rents are down 8.0% over the last twelve months. Three-bedroom rents in the same ZIP code are up 6.6%. That is not two neighborhoods — it is one, in the same month, moving in opposite directions depending on unit type.
Which is the actual finding in San Diego rental data right now, and it is not the one most neighborhood guides report. Six of the ten ZIP codes below have declining average rents. Picking the right neighborhood matters less than picking the right unit type inside it.
Every figure on this page is RentCast data pulled August 10, 2026, by ZIP code and bedroom count. There are no yield or return percentages here, and that is deliberate — explained below.
Quick Answer
Which San Diego neighborhoods have the strongest rent growth? La Jolla (92037) at +8.4% and Encinitas (92024) at +5.6% lead all ten ZIP codes reviewed. Both are high-entry coastal markets. Pacific Beach (92109) is +1.6% and University City (92122) is +1.8%.
Which are declining? Six of ten. Normal Heights (92116) −4.2%, North Park (92104) −3.3%, Hillcrest (92103) −2.6%, Mission Valley (92108) −1.2%, Downtown (92101) −0.9%, and Chula Vista/Eastlake (91913) −0.6%.
What is the highest-rent ZIP? La Jolla (92037) at $5,010 average across all unit types, followed by Encinitas (92024) at $4,680. The lowest is Normal Heights (92116) at $2,530.
Does unit type matter more than neighborhood? In three of these ZIPs, yes. North Park 1BR is −8.0% while its 3BR is +6.6%. Hillcrest 1BR is −5.2% while its 3BR is +15.1%. A citywide or even ZIP-level average conceals that completely.
Why no return percentages? Because a credible yield requires matched pairs — a 2BR condo's rent against a 2BR condo's sale price in the same ZIP and period. Dividing a one-bedroom rent by a median all-home-types sale price produces a number that looks precise and is not. That is a common error in neighborhood guides, including a previous version of this one.
Rent data: RentCast.io, pulled August 10, 2026, for each ZIP code. Year-over-year changes cover the trailing twelve months. General information, not investment advice.
Same ZIP. Same month. Opposite markets.
Twelve-month rent change by bedroom count, RentCast August 2026
North Park — 92104
−8.0%
1 bedroom
+6.6%
3 bedroom
Hillcrest — 92103
−5.2%
1 bedroom
+15.1%
3 bedroom
Pacific Beach — 92109
+4.9%
1 bedroom
−0.2%
3 bedroom
If you own a one-bedroom in North Park and you are pricing from a ZIP-level average, you are pricing off a number that is being held up by three-bedrooms you do not own.
RentCast, August 10, 2026. Bedroom-level samples are smaller than ZIP-level samples and therefore more volatile — treat direction as more reliable than the exact percentage.
All Ten ZIP Codes, Ranked by Average Rent
| ZIP — Area | Avg Rent | 12-Month Trend | Local Ordinance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 92037 La Jolla | $5,010 | +8.4% | City of San Diego |
| 92024 Encinitas | $4,680 | +5.6% | None — state law only |
| 92109 Pacific Beach | $3,710 | +1.6% | City of San Diego |
| 91913 Chula Vista / Eastlake | $3,610 | −0.6% | Chula Vista CVMC 9.65 |
| 92122 University City | $3,430 | +1.8% | City of San Diego |
| 92108 Mission Valley | $3,280 | −1.2% | City of San Diego |
| 92101 Downtown / East Village | $3,160 | −0.9% | City of San Diego |
| 92103 Hillcrest | $2,960 | −2.6% | City of San Diego |
| 92104 North Park | $2,640 | −3.3% | City of San Diego |
| 92116 Normal Heights | $2,530 | −4.2% | City of San Diego |
RentCast, August 10, 2026. Eight of these ten ZIPs sit inside City of San Diego limits, which carries the Tenant Protection Ordinance — just cause from day one rather than twelve months. Chula Vista has its own ordinance. Encinitas has none.
Rent by Bedroom Count — Where the Real Signal Is
| ZIP | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92037 La Jolla | $2,810 +8.9% | $3,150 +2.6% | $5,410 +12.9% | $6,460 0% | $8,000 −4.2% |
| 92024 Encinitas | $2,160 −0.5% | $3,200 +11.9% | $4,420 +4.5% | $6,640 +1.8% | $7,170 +2.1% |
| 92109 Pacific Beach | $2,150 +2.9% | $2,790 +4.9% | $4,040 +2.5% | $6,350 −0.2% | $7,200 −6.6% |
| 92122 University City | $2,690 −1.1% | $2,890 +5.1% | $3,670 +4.0% | $4,880 +2.3% | $5,950 +1.5% |
| 92108 Mission Valley | $2,340 | $2,760 | $3,510 | $4,810 | $5,420 |
| 92101 Downtown | $2,260 −3.0% | $2,890 −0.3% | $4,300 +3.1% | $4,810 −8.4% | $4,860 +0.8% |
| 92103 Hillcrest | $2,100 −5.0% | $2,540 −5.2% | $3,590 −3.8% | $5,270 +15.1% | $6,060 −5.5% |
| 92104 North Park | $2,040 −1.9% | $2,180 −8.0% | $3,060 −0.6% | $4,340 +6.6% | $5,510 −2.7% |
| 92116 Normal Heights | $1,770 −2.2% | $2,110 −2.3% | $2,840 −2.7% | $4,090 −1.9% | $5,730 −5.1% |
RentCast, August 10, 2026. Mission Valley bedroom-level year-over-year figures were not included in that ZIP's report; the ZIP average is −1.2%. Bedroom-level samples are smaller and more volatile than ZIP averages, so read direction rather than the precise percentage. 91913 Chula Vista/Eastlake bedroom detail is on the Chula Vista page.
Four Things This Data Says
1. The coast is pulling away from the urban core. La Jolla +8.4% and Encinitas +5.6% are the only ZIPs here with meaningful growth. The walkable inner neighborhoods that dominated investor attention for a decade — North Park, Hillcrest, Normal Heights — are the three steepest declines. That is a reversal, not a blip, and it lines up with the countywide picture: the 2022–2024 delivery surge landed in and around the urban core, and coastal supply stayed constrained.
2. Small units are absorbing the new supply. Where a ZIP has both falling one-bedrooms and rising three-bedrooms — North Park, Hillcrest — the pattern points the same way. New apartment construction is overwhelmingly studios and one-bedrooms, and it competes directly with existing small units while leaving family-sized stock alone. If you own a one-bedroom in an inner neighborhood, your competition just grew.
3. Downtown's three-bedroom is the outlier worth noting. 92101 is −0.9% overall, but its 3BR is −8.4% — the steepest single-bedroom decline in the whole set. Larger units downtown are a thin market to begin with, so treat that figure as directional. But if you own one, do not price it from the ZIP average.
4. Declining rent is not the same as a bad market. A ZIP at −3% with strong tenant demand and short vacancy can outperform one at +5% where units sit empty. What declining rent does mean is that the AB 1482 cap is irrelevant to you this year — you cannot raise to a number the market will not pay — and that pricing accuracy at turnover matters far more than it did two years ago.
In a declining ZIP, the price you set at turnover is the price you keep.
Under AB 1482 the rent you sign becomes the base every future increase is calculated from, and in a soft market you will not be raising past it soon. Overprice and you eat vacancy; underprice and you are locked in. Send us the address — we'll price it against ZIP and bedroom comps rather than a citywide average. Free, and the number is yours either way.
Price My Unit Free Call (619) 456-0000The Regulatory Layer Most Neighborhood Guides Skip
Eight of these ten ZIPs are inside City of San Diego limits. That is a materially different ownership proposition from the two that are not, and no rent table shows it.
City of San Diego — 92037, 92109, 92122, 92108, 92101, 92103, 92104, 92116. The Tenant Protection Ordinance (SDMC §§98.0701–98.0709) applies on top of state AB 1482. Just cause attaches from day one of tenancy rather than at twelve months. No-fault terminations require two months' relocation assistance — three if the tenant is 62 or older or disabled — paid within 15 days, and the Housing Commission must be notified.
Chula Vista — 91913. CVMC 9.65 applies. Just cause from day one, relocation for no-fault, and the City must be notified within three business days or the notice is invalid. Chula Vista also requires its own exemption notice language under CVMC §9.65.040(C) — the state AB 1482 form alone does not establish exemption here.
Encinitas — 92024. No local ordinance. State AB 1482 is the entire rulebook, which means twelve months to just cause and one month's relocation on a no-fault. Of the ten, this is the lightest regulatory load — and it also has the second-strongest rent growth.
The San Diego County AB 1482 cap is 8.2% for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 in all ten ZIPs — no city here imposes its own rent cap. See our San Diego rent increase guide.
Pacific Beach and short-term rentals. A previous version of this guide described 92109 as having "high Airbnb potential." That needs a caveat: the City of San Diego licenses short-term residential occupancy through the STRO program, and Pacific Beach and Mission Beach sit under a separate, tighter allocation than the rest of the city. Do not underwrite a Pacific Beach purchase on short-term rental income without first confirming license availability with the City. Assume long-term rental economics unless you have the license in hand.
Why There Are No Return Percentages on This Page
Most San Diego neighborhood guides publish an "estimated annual return" per area. An earlier version of this page did too. Those figures do not survive a calculator, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of using better inputs.
The standard method is to divide an average one-bedroom rent by a median sale price across all home types. Those are two different assets. The rent belongs to a condo; the price is dominated by houses. On a coastal ZIP the gap is enormous — a one-bedroom rent against a median that includes single-family homes will overstate yield by a factor of two or more once you also ignore taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, and management.
A defensible yield needs matched pairs: a two-bedroom condo's rent against two-bedroom condo sale prices in the same ZIP and the same period, then net of real operating expenses. That is a per-property calculation, not a neighborhood statistic — which is why you will not find an honest version of it in a top-ten list.
If you want the yield on a specific property, that is a calculation we will run for you at no charge using matched comps and your actual expense assumptions. What we will not do is publish a neighborhood-level return figure, because there is no way to produce one that is both specific and true.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which San Diego neighborhood has the highest rents in 2026?
La Jolla (92037) at $5,010 average across all unit types, followed by Encinitas (92024) at $4,680 and Pacific Beach (92109) at $3,710. The lowest of the ten reviewed is Normal Heights (92116) at $2,530. RentCast, August 10, 2026.
Are San Diego rents rising or falling in 2026?
Both, depending on where and what. Of the ten ZIPs reviewed, four are rising and six are falling over the trailing twelve months. La Jolla leads at +8.4% and Encinitas at +5.6%, while Normal Heights is −4.2%, North Park −3.3%, and Hillcrest −2.6%. A single countywide figure conceals a spread of nearly 13 percentage points.
Why is my one-bedroom renting for less than the neighborhood average?
Because in several San Diego ZIPs the unit types are moving in opposite directions. North Park one-bedrooms are down 8.0% over twelve months while three-bedrooms in the same ZIP are up 6.6%. Hillcrest one-bedrooms are down 5.2% while three-bedrooms are up 15.1%. A ZIP average blends both, so pricing a small unit off it will overstate what the market will pay.
Which San Diego neighborhoods are best for rental property investment?
It depends on what you are optimizing for, and no honest answer is a single ranking. For rent growth, La Jolla and Encinitas lead by a wide margin. For lowest regulatory load, Encinitas is the only one of the ten with no local ordinance on top of state law. For entry price, the inner neighborhoods are cheapest — but they are also where rents are falling fastest. Anyone publishing a ranked list with return percentages attached is estimating, not measuring.
Can I run a short-term rental in Pacific Beach?
Only with a City of San Diego STRO license, and Pacific Beach and Mission Beach fall under a separate, tighter allocation than the rest of the city. Confirm license availability with the City before underwriting any purchase on short-term income. Assume long-term rental economics unless the license is already secured.
Which of these ZIP codes have local rent or eviction ordinances?
Eight of ten are inside City of San Diego limits and carry the Tenant Protection Ordinance — just cause from day one and two months' relocation for no-fault terminations. Chula Vista (91913) has its own ordinance, CVMC 9.65, including a distinct exemption notice requirement. Encinitas (92024) has none; state AB 1482 governs. None of the ten has a local rent cap — the AB 1482 limit of 8.2% applies countywide through July 31, 2027.
Should I lower my rent in a declining ZIP code?
Not automatically, and not on a sitting tenant. A declining ZIP average does not mean your specific unit is overpriced — condition, block, and bedroom count all move independently. Where it matters is at turnover: under AB 1482 the rent you sign becomes the base every future increase is calculated from, and in a soft market you will not be raising past it quickly. Overpricing costs vacancy; underpricing locks in a low base. Price from ZIP and bedroom comps, not the citywide figure.
Sources and Method
Rent data: RentCast.io ZIP code rental market reports, pulled August 10, 2026, for 92037, 92024, 92109, 91913, 92122, 92108, 92101, 92103, 92104, and 92116. Averages are market rents across all unit types; year-over-year figures cover the trailing twelve months.
A caveat on bedroom-level figures: these draw on smaller samples than ZIP averages and are correspondingly more volatile. Read the direction of travel as more reliable than the precise percentage. Where a bedroom category showed an extreme swing on an obviously thin sample, it has been left out of the narrative rather than presented as a trend.
Regulatory references: San Diego Municipal Code §§98.0701–98.0709; Chula Vista Municipal Code Chapter 9.65 including §9.65.040(C); California AB 1482 (Civil Code §§1947.12 and 1946.2). The 8.2% San Diego County cap applies August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027.
No return or yield figures are published here, for the reasons set out above. Where an earlier version of this page carried estimated annual returns by neighborhood, those figures were not supportable and have been removed rather than updated.
Rent figures reflect RentCast.io data pulled August 10, 2026 and change monthly — verify current figures before pricing a unit or underwriting a purchase. Local ordinances are amended; confirm current requirements with the applicable city. Short-term rental licensing in the City of San Diego is subject to allocation limits that vary by area. This guide is general market information, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Consult a qualified California attorney, CPA, or licensed advisor for your specific situation.
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Six of these ten ZIPs are falling. Do you know which one you own in?
And within your ZIP, your bedroom count may be moving the opposite way from the average. Send us the address — we'll pull the comps for your ZIP and unit type, tell you where your current rent sits against them, and flag which ordinance applies to you. Free, and the numbers are yours either way.
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