What is the median rent in Atherton, CA?

Name: Median rent in Atherton, CA, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Atherton, CA is $3,500 or more a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 245 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $3,500 or more
Rented homes: 245 (±138)
$2,000 or more: 84.9%

How much rent costs in Atherton

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Atherton	San Mateo County	California	United States
Less than $500	10.6% (±17.9 points)	2.4%	3.6%	6.3%
$500 to $999	0.0% (±15.9 points)	2.0%	7.2%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	4.5% (±7.5 points)	3.7%	16.2%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	0.0% (±15.9 points)	9.7%	21.5%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	0.0% (±15.9 points)	17.8%	19.8%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	0.0% (±15.9 points)	17.1%	12.5%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	84.9% (±19.6 points)	47.3%	19.1%	6.8%

The most common range is $3,000 or more, paid by 84.9% of renting households.

84.9% of rented homes in Atherton cost $2,000 or more a month.

Atherton against San Mateo County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Atherton	San Mateo County	California	United States
Median gross rent	$3,500 or more	$2,922 (±$40)	$2,036 (±$5)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	245 (±138)	106,795 (±1,875)	5,783,331 (±22,650)	42,849,984

How rent in Atherton has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Households that rent	6.8% (±2.5 points)	12.4% (±6.1 points)	+5.6 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	9.6% (±15.1 points)	0.0% (±14.2 points)	−9.6 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Atherton

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Atherton
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Atherton	—	$3,500 or more	—
North Fair Oaks	1.3 mi	$2,314 (±$169)	—
West Menlo Park	1.6 mi	$3,324 (±$593)	—
Stanford	2.8 mi	$1,976 (±$111)	—
Menlo Park	3.3 mi	$3,239 (±$156)	—
Emerald Lake Hills	3.6 mi	$3,500 or more	—
East Palo Alto	3.8 mi	$2,244 (±$166)	—
Woodside	4.0 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Redwood City	4.1 mi	$2,968 (±$76)	—

None of the nearby places differs measurably from this one on this figure.

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across San Mateo County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
1 (tie)	Atherton	$3,500 or more
1 (tie)	Foster City	$3,500 or more
1 (tie)	Hillsborough	$3,500 or more
1 (tie)	Portola Valley	$3,500 or more
1 (tie)	Woodside	$3,500 or more
1 (tie)	Baywood Park	$3,500 or more
1 (tie)	Broadmoor	$3,500 or more

Showing 7 of 28 places in San Mateo County, ranked from highest to lowest.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Atherton

What is the average rent in Atherton, CA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Atherton is $3,500 or more a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How many rentals in Atherton cost more than $2,000 a month?

84.9% of rented homes in Atherton have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 10.6% cost less than $500.

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Atherton town, California (place:03092, in state:06).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.