Plan your move

California city guide

Los Angeles, CAHousing costs & affordability

Los Angeles has about 3,857,263 residents. Median gross rent is $1,933 per month, while median household income is $81,939.

2020-2024 ACS 5-YearCensus place · CaliforniaView sources ↗

Quick answer

What income supports the median rent?

A household would need about $77,300 per year to keep Los Angeles's median gross rent near 30% of gross income. The 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year citywide median-rent-to-median-income benchmark is 28%.

Elevated housing-cost benchmark
Verify this answerRent estimate & MOEHousehold incomeCalculation

Data scope: figures use 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates. The latest official release was checked Oct 01, 2026 at 03:00 UTC. The benchmark compares citywide medians and is designed for broad relocation research, not an individual budget or a live apartment search.

Median gross rent $1,933/mo17% above the dataset median90% MOE ±$9
Income for 30% rent target $77,300Gross annual household incomeDerived MOE ±$400
Median household income $81,939Close to the dataset median90% MOE ±$742
Median home value $921,200149% above the dataset median90% MOE ±$4,782
Owner-occupied homes 36%Share of occupied units
Home value-to-income 11.2xMedian value ÷ income

High estimate precision Margins of error use the Census ACS 90% confidence level. Smaller geographies and subgroups can have wider uncertainty.

Personal rent check

Make the numbers
work for you.

Compare Los Angeles’s median rent with a 30% target based on your gross annual household income.

Your result will appear here.

Calculated on your device. Your income is not saved.

Major-city decision brief · Priority city 2 of 30

What stands out for a move to Los Angeles

Four signals derived from the same Census dataset help separate the renting, buying and ownership picture.

  1. 01

    Income versus the rent target

    Median household income is $4,639 above the $77,300 income associated with median rent at 30%. That is a citywide cushion, not a promise that a specific household or apartment will fit.

  2. 02

    Rent position inside California

    Los Angeles ranks #142 from lowest to highest rent among 340 covered California cities with usable rent estimates. Its rent is 17% above the dataset median across the full 10-state dataset.

  3. 03

    Buying requires a different scale of income

    Median home value equals 11.2x median household income, 168% above the dataset median. This ratio does not include rates, down payment, property tax, insurance or maintenance.

  4. 04

    Ownership is one part of the local housing mix

    36% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 43% below the dataset median. The remaining share includes renter-occupied housing and should not be read as current inventory availability.

Direct comparisons

Compare Los Angeles with another city

How Los Angeles compares

Within California, Los Angeles ranks #142 from lowest to highest rent among 340 covered places with usable rent estimates. Median rent is 17% above the dataset median. Household income ranks #257 from highest to lowest among 345 places with usable income estimates.

The citywide rent-to-income benchmark is between 25% and 30%. The rent-to-income benchmark is useful for comparing cities under one formula, but households with different incomes, unit sizes or debt loads will experience costs differently.

Renting snapshot

$23,196 in annual median rent

Twelve months of median gross rent totals about $23,196. Gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable in the ACS definition.

Buying snapshot

39.7x price-to-rent baseline

Median home value is about 39.7x annual median rent. This is a broad market comparison and does not include mortgage rates, taxes, insurance or maintenance.

Search terms, defined

How to read rent, home price and AMI searches

These distinctions keep the Census estimates comparable and prevent a historical survey measure from being mistaken for a live market quote.

Average rent vs. median gross rent
If you searched for the average rent in Los Angeles, the closest consistent Census measure on this page is $1,933 median gross rent. It is the midpoint among renter-occupied homes paying cash rent, not a live average asking rent. Gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable.
Home price vs. median home value
The reported $921,200 median home value is the midpoint of owner estimates for owner-occupied homes. It is not an average sale price, listing price or current automated valuation.
Household income vs. AMI
The $81,939 median household income is a Census city estimate. It is not HUD Area Median Income (AMI), an AMI eligibility limit or an affordable-housing contract amount.

Keep comparing

Similar-size cities in California

Questions people ask

What is the median rent in Los Angeles?

Median gross rent is $1,933 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

What is the average rent in Los Angeles?

This page reports Census median gross rent of $1,933 per month, not a live average asking rent. Median is the midpoint among renter-occupied homes paying cash rent; gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable.

What income is needed for the median rent?

A gross household income of about $77,300 per year would keep median gross rent near 30% of income. This is a planning benchmark, not a landlord qualification rule.

Is housing affordable in Los Angeles?

The citywide median-rent-to-median-income benchmark is 28%, which this site labels a elevated housing-cost benchmark. Individual costs can differ substantially.

Does this page report Area Median Income or AMI?

No. The $81,939 figure is Census median household income for the city. It is not HUD Area Median Income, an AMI limit or an affordable-housing contract amount.

What is the median home value in Los Angeles?

The median value of owner-occupied homes is $921,200 in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

What is the average home price in Los Angeles?

This page reports a Census median owner-occupied home value of $921,200, not an average sale price, current listing price or real-time market estimate.

Trace every number

Data sources for Los Angeles

2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates for Los Angeles, California (Census place 0644000). Dollar estimates are in 2024 dollars. MOE means margin of error at 90% confidence.

Scroll the table horizontally on smaller screens to see every source.

Reported estimates · 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year
MeasureEstimate90% MOECensus source
Median gross rentUSD / month $1,933±$9 B25064_001E
Median household incomeUSD / year $81,939±$742 B19013_001E
Median owner-occupied home valueUSD $921,200±$4,782 B25077_001E
PopulationPeople 3,857,263±151 B01003_001E
Occupied housing unitsHousing units 1,439,097±4,027 B25003_001E
Owner-occupied housing unitsHousing units 518,423±4,594 B25003_002E

Calculated separately: the $77,300 annual income target = $1,933 monthly gross rent × 12 ÷ 0.30, rounded to $100. Owner occupancy = owner-occupied units ÷ occupied units. These are derived benchmarks, not separate Census estimates. Missing or suppressed values are shown as “Not reported”; open-ended medians use a + or an “Under” label and are excluded from exact derived calculations; ranks use usable point estimates and do not establish statistically significant differences.

Good research deserves a source.

MoveCostCompare. “Housing costs in Los Angeles, California.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. $1,933 median gross rent per month (90% MOE ±$9). https://movecostcompare.com/city/los-angeles-california. Survey estimate, not live asking rent.

Download dataset (CSV)Data dictionary

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Latest release checked Oct 01, 2026 at 03:00 UTC. Review the definitions and methodology.