Santa Cruz rent prices by bedroom and neighborhood
From 338 active rental listings across 6 areas of the Santa Cruz market. The most common listing is a 2-bed, with a median ask of $3,500. 81 of 249 listings with enough local data (33%) ask 10% or more above similar listings nearby.
Asking rent by bedroom count
| Size | Listings | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | Overpriced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 25 | $1,950 | $2,000 | $2,500 | – |
| 1-bed | 60 | $2,399 | $2,598 | $2,962 | 36% |
| 2-bed | 129 | $3,195 | $3,500 | $3,900 | 29% |
| 3-bed | 102 | $4,125 | $4,548 | $5,375 | 32% |
| 4+ bed | 22 | $4,512 | $5,948 | $7,850 | – |
For a 2-bed, the lowest median ask is in Watsonville ($3,148) and the highest in Aptos ($3,698).
By area
Median asking rent by area and size. Areas with at least 15 listings have their own page.
| Area | Listings | 1-bed | 2-bed | 3-bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz | 176 | $2,600 | $3,600 | $4,872 |
| Watsonville | 63 | $2,100 | $3,148 | $4,100 |
| Aptos | 45 | $3,100 | $3,698 | $4,900 |
| Capitola | 41 | $2,775 | $3,472 | $5,250 |
| Soquel | 11 | – | – | – |
See the listings
Every one of these listings, scored and ranked by how far under typical it asks, is on the Santa Cruz deals map.
Other markets
Median and percentiles are asking rents of whole-home rental listings seen active in the period, rooms and short-term rentals excluded. Overpriced is the share asking 10% or more above what similar listings nearby ask (the lower of our estimate and the median of at least three comparable listings), counted only among listings with enough local data and shown once there are 20. Cells with fewer than 5 listings are not quoted.
Page refreshed Sep 29, 2026, from listings seen active on Sep 20, 2026. Refreshed monthly. Source: public rental listings collected by Lowball; estimates from our model (see accuracy).