What is the median rent in San Clemente, CA?

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

The median gross rent in San Clemente, CA is $2,460 (±$118) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 7,677 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In San Clemente, the median gross rent went from $1,880 in 2015–2019 to $2,460 in 2020–2024 (+30.9%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $2,460 (±$118)
Rented homes: 7,677 (±626)
$2,000 or more: 69.9%
Since 2015–2019: +30.9%

How much rent costs in San Clemente

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	San Clemente	Orange County	California	United States
Less than $500	1.2% (±0.9 points)	2.4%	3.6%	6.3%
$500 to $999	1.7% (±1.3 points)	2.6%	7.2%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	5.4% (±2.4 points)	6.7%	16.2%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	21.8% (±4.7 points)	16.0%	21.5%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	21.6% (±4.4 points)	25.6%	19.8%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	16.8% (±3.6 points)	18.7%	12.5%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	31.5% (±5.2 points)	27.9%	19.1%	6.8%

The most common range is $3,000 or more, paid by 31.5% of renting households.

69.9% of rented homes in San Clemente cost $2,000 or more a month.

San Clemente against Orange County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	San Clemente	Orange County	California	United States
Median gross rent	$2,460 (±$118)	$2,434 (±$13)	$2,036 (±$5)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	7,677 (±626)	459,675 (±4,130)	5,783,331 (±22,650)	42,849,984

In San Clemente, median gross rent is not measurably different from Orange County ($2,434).

It is also higher than in California ($2,036).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

In Orange County, San Clemente ranks 22 of 40 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 211 of 1,010.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in San Clemente has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$1,880 (±$63)	$2,460 (±$118)	+30.9%	Up after inflation
Households that rent	32.0% (±1.8 points)	33.5% (±2.6 points)	+1.5 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	4.6% (±2.0 points)	3.5% (±2.2 points)	−1.1 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 San Clemente

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with San Clemente
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
San Clemente	—	$2,460 (±$118)	—
San Juan Capistrano	4.3 mi	$2,438 (±$197)	Not measurably different
Dana Point	5.0 mi	$3,106 (±$167)	Higher
Rancho Mission Viejo	5.4 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Ladera Ranch	7.1 mi	$3,350 (±$202)	Higher
Laguna Niguel	7.5 mi	$2,903 (±$83)	Higher
Las Flores	9.3 mi	$2,938 (±$379)	Higher
Coto de Caza	10 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Laguna Beach	11 mi	$2,986 (±$201)	Higher

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: Dana Point, CA ($3,106), Ladera Ranch, CA ($3,350), Laguna Niguel, CA ($2,903).

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

Median gross rent across Orange County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
16	Seal Beach	$2,649 (±$138)
17	Fountain Valley	$2,631 (±$134)
18	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2,625 (±$120)
19	Huntington Beach	$2,510 (±$50)
20	Cypress	$2,483 (±$104)
21	North Tustin	$2,462 (±$197)
22	San Clemente	$2,460 (±$118)
23	Tustin	$2,449 (±$57)
24	Costa Mesa	$2,446 (±$39)
25	San Juan Capistrano	$2,438 (±$197)
26	Brea	$2,397 (±$82)
27	Placentia	$2,388 (±$84)
28	Los Alamitos	$2,365 (±$80)

Showing 13 of 40 places in Orange 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 San Clemente

What is the average rent in San Clemente, CA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in San Clemente is $2,460 (±$118) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in San Clemente?

In San Clemente, the median gross rent went from $1,880 in 2015–2019 to $2,460 in 2020–2024 (+30.9%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

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

69.9% of rented homes in San Clemente have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 1.2% cost less than $500.

Is rent in San Clemente higher than in Orange County?

In San Clemente, median gross rent is not measurably different from Orange County ($2,434).

It is also higher than in California ($2,036).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

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 San Clemente city, California (place:65084, 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.