Cities / California / San Mateo County / South San Francisco
RentMarker city housing analysis
City housing brief · Incorporated place

South San Francisco, CA

City evidence stays city-level. County, metro and national records appear separately to explain the wider market without changing the city figures.

City gross yield4.0%ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI · before costs
Direct city rent answer

What does rent cost in South San Francisco, CA?

The latest city-level Zillow ZORI for South San Francisco is $4,084 per month in 2026-06. It measures a typical asking-rent market across rental types—not an arithmetic average or an address-level rent estimate.

City Zillow ZORI$4,0842026-06 · up 8.2% year over year
City ACS gross rent$2,802ACS 2024 5-year occupied-renter survey
HUD two-bedroom context$3,604San Mateo County administrative standard
How to read the rent answer for South San Francisco
MeasureCurrent valueGeographyMeasurement boundary
Zillow ZORI$4,084South San Francisco cityTypical observed asking-rent index; not a unit quote.
Census ACS gross rent$2,802South San Francisco citySurvey estimate for occupied renter homes, including specified utilities.
HUD 2BR FMR$3,604San Mateo CountyAdministrative bedroom standard; wider context, never substituted as city rent.

For a property decision, match bedroom count, condition, utilities, concessions, lease timing and nearby comparable listings. Wider county and metro evidence below stays explicitly labelled.Zillow pulled 2026-07-29

City market snapshot

Four figures that frame the city

Typical home value
$1230k
▲ 1.6% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · 2026-06
Observed market rent
$4,084
▲ 8.2% year over year
Zillow ZORI · 2026-06
Entry affordability
9.0x
home value ÷ household income
Zillow + Census ACS
Population
64,305
▼ 4.6% between ACS vintages
ACS 2024 5-year
Current measured evidence

Use the source-dated charts while the narrative is refreshed

The city facts below remain available because they are generated directly from the current public records. The written interpretation will return only after it matches the same evidence set.

Housing system

Market movement and the stock underneath it

Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI +6.2%ZORI +24.2%
12411095202120222023202420252026
Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.
Housing stock

Tenure and vacancy

ACS
41.0%RENTER
Owner occupied59.0%
Renter occupied41.0%
Vacant units7.1%

Median structure year 1965

Tenure uses occupied units; vacancy uses all housing units.
Measurement matrix

Two sources, two different questions

SourceHome valueMonthly rent
Zillow market index$1.2M$4.1K
ACS occupied housing$1.2M$2.8K
Zillow measures current market indexes. ACS reports surveyed owner value and gross rent for occupied housing. The rows are context, not interchangeable estimates.
Direct city depth

Households and housing form behind the medians

Median household income$137k

Annual ACS household measure.

Rent-to-income screen35.9%

Annual ZORI divided by ACS median income.

ACS rent burden51.6%

Renters paying at least 30% of household income toward gross rent.

Average household size2.90

People per occupied housing unit.

Single-family stock68.1%

Detached and attached one-unit structures.

Large multifamily stock16.7%

Housing in structures with 20 or more units.

Vacant and for rent43.0%

Share of vacant units listed by ACS as for rent, not a market vacancy rate.

Unemployment2.8%

Share of the civilian labor force.

Poverty6.7%

ACS population for whom poverty status is determined.

These are citywide context measures. They cannot tell you the rent, vacancy, expenses or tenant demand for a particular neighborhood or property.
Closest market alternatives

Three useful contrasts, not a synthetic winner

The peer set broadens the decision without mixing geographies. Price, rent and housing characteristics remain city-level for every place.

Comparable market profile

Entry price, rent and gross yield

South San Francisco, CARedwood City, CASanta Cruz, CASomerville, MA
Typical home valueZillow ZHVISouth San Francisco$1.2MRedwood City$1.9MSanta Cruz$1.4MSomerville$941.3KObserved market rentZillow ZORI / monthSouth San Francisco$4.1KRedwood City$3.9KSanta Cruz$3.6KSomerville$3.6KGross yieldZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVISouth San Francisco4.0%Redwood City2.5%Santa Cruz3.2%Somerville4.6%
Bars begin at zero within each measure. Gross yield is a screening ratio before financing, taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance or management costs.
Same metro01

Redwood City, CA

Compared with South San Francisco, typical home value is $655k higher, monthly rent is $135 lower, and gross yield is 1.5 percentage points lower.

Rent burden 30%+
46.7%
Renter share
51.4%
One-unit stock
56.3%
20+ unit stock
19.2%
Same state02

Santa Cruz, CA

Compared with South San Francisco, typical home value is $135k higher, monthly rent is $436 lower, and gross yield is 0.8 percentage points lower.

Rent burden 30%+
54.0%
Renter share
51.6%
One-unit stock
65.5%
20+ unit stock
11.1%
Closest data profile03

Somerville, MA

Compared with South San Francisco, typical home value is $289k lower, monthly rent is $495 lower, and gross yield is 0.6 percentage points higher.

Rent burden 30%+
36.2%
Renter share
65.8%
One-unit stock
14.7%
20+ unit stock
16.4%

These are analytical alternatives, not recommendations. The structural measures come from Census ACS; price and rent use the Zillow releases shown on each card and in the source ledger below.

Wider market context

What surrounds the city without being mistaken for it

The layers below answer different questions. County records describe listing, migration, financing and hazard conditions around the city; metro records describe jobs, supply and permits; the mortgage rate is national.

Same measure, wider boundary

City marker against intersecting counties

CityCounty range
Typical home value$1.6M$1.6M$1.2MObserved market rent$3.8K$3.8K$4.1K
Both levels use Zillow indexes, but the county records cover land and housing outside the city. The comparison supplies context; it does not replace the city value.
Same Zillow index families

City limits versus the linked metro

South San FranciscoMetro
Observed market rentMetro $3.3KCity $4.1K · +23.7%Typical home valueMetro $1.1MCity $1.2M · +7.7%Gross yieldMetro 3.5%City 4.0% · +14.8%
Zillow ZORI and ZHVI use the same release month at both boundaries. Gross yield is rent × 12 ÷ home value; the metro contains the city and is context, not a substitute.

Search all direct city–metro gaps in the interactive atlas.

COUNTY LAYER

The intersecting county

This boundary extends beyond the city and is shown only as context.

2026-06
Active listings
735
Listing DOM
36 days
FHFA one-year
▼ 0.6%
Net migration
-2,667
Investor share
9.3%
Effective property tax
0.61%
Top hazard
earthquake
Expected loss ratio
0.37%
METRO LAYER

San Francisco, CA

Open metro analysis →
Job growth▲ 0.1%12m to 2026-06
Permitted units7,7082026 YTD through M06
Permits / 1,0001.7broader metro population
Months of supplyn/a2026-05-01
Median DOMn/aRedfin metro tracker
Price dropsn/aRedfin metro tracker
Wider-context figures are not inputs to the city gross yield and are never used to fill a missing city price, rent or ACS measure.
Sources and geography

What belongs to this city page

Census recognizes this as South San Francisco city. The place intersects San Mateo County.