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What a one-bedroom costs across L.A. County right now, from Norwalk to Pasadena

Three rent trackers, three different numbers. Here's what each one says about Long Beach, Inglewood, Torrance, Downey and more, and why they don't match.

By Alberto Zamudio | The Southbound 105 | Oct. 19, 2026

If you're hunting for an apartment in L.A. County this fall, the city you pick can swing your rent by $1,000 a month. And the "average rent" you hear about depends on who's counting.

The average apartment rent in Los Angeles County is $2,676 a month, up 0.47% from a year earlier, according to RentCafe market data updated Oct. 17, 2026. A different tracker, Apartment List, said in its October 2026 rent report that the median rent across the Los Angeles metro area is $2,207, down 0.6% over the past year.

Both numbers can be right. Here's why, and what renters are paying city by city.

Three ways to count rent

Averages from big buildings (RentCafe): RentCafe says its figures come from its sister company, Yardi Matrix, and cover apartment buildings with 50 or more units. Large, professionally managed complexes tend to charge more, so these numbers run high.
Asking rents (PiggyRent, Zumper): These track what landlords are listing units for right now. PiggyRent reports medians, meaning half of listings ask more and half ask less. It says its figures come from Apartments.com and Zillow listings and do not subtract move-in specials.
Census-based medians (Apartment List): Apartment List says it starts with Census Bureau median rents and moves them forward using growth in its own listing data. That captures older, cheaper units and long-time tenants, so its numbers are usually the lowest.

One-bedroom rents, city by city

RentCafe figures are averages updated Oct. 17, 2026. Apartment List figures are medians from its October 2026 report. A dash means that source does not report the city.

City	1-bedroom average (RentCafe)	All-unit average (RentCafe)	1-year change (RentCafe)	1-bedroom median (Apartment List)
Pasadena	$2,988	$3,289	+1.67%	$2,180
Burbank	$2,572	$2,916	+2.38%	$1,766
Glendale	$2,557	$2,914	-0.86%	$1,855
Los Angeles	$2,553	$2,765	+0.06%	$1,861
Long Beach	$2,479	$2,739	+1.98%	$1,595
Inglewood	$2,418	$2,567	+1.06%	$1,407
Torrance	$2,296	$2,603	+4.48%	$2,141
South Gate	$2,209	$2,368	+1.49%	-
Downey	$2,033	$2,283	+0.68%	-
Hawthorne	$2,003	$2,027	+2.55%	-
Norwalk	$1,978	$2,338	+1.32%	-
L.A. County	$2,455	$2,676	+0.47%	-

RentCafe also lists all-unit averages of $2,022 for Gardena, $2,119 for Paramount and $2,224 for Bellflower. It does not list a figure for Compton.

Torrance and Hawthorne climb

Among the cities in our table, Torrance posted the biggest one-year jump in RentCafe's data: the average rose 4.48%, from $2,491 to $2,603. Apartment List also shows Torrance rising, up 1.7% from a year ago.

Hawthorne's average rose 2.55%, to $2,027, according to RentCafe. That matters in a city where 73% of households rent, according to Census figures RentCafe cites. In Inglewood, 64% of households rent.

Apartment List calls Inglewood the most affordable city in the L.A. metro among the 27 it tracks, with a median rent of $1,686 across all unit sizes, down 2.5% from a year earlier.

In the southeast cities, one-bedroom averages in large complexes sit near $2,000 to $2,200. In South Gate, RentCafe says 51% of the rentals it tracks fall between $1,501 and $2,000 a month.

The high end and the low end

Zumper's Los Angeles metro report for October 2026 lists Santa Monica as the priciest place for a one-bedroom, with a median of $2,880, followed by Beverly Hills at $2,780 and West Hollywood at $2,580. At the other end, Zumper lists Palmdale at $1,510 and Lancaster at $1,580.

Zumper also reported a 7.8% year-over-year drop in Glendale. That's a much steeper drop than RentCafe's 0.86% dip in Glendale's overall average, or Apartment List's 1.8% decline. It's a reminder that each tracker measures a different slice of the market.

Apartment List said Santa Monica had the slowest rent growth in the metro, with rents down 5.4% over the past year.

What listings in L.A. are asking

PiggyRent's Oct. 18 update, based on listings collected Oct. 2 through 17, puts the median asking rent for a one-bedroom in Los Angeles at $2,417, from 4,671 listings. Half of those listings ask between $1,960 and $2,938. Studios ask a median $1,994, two-bedrooms $3,355 and three-bedrooms $4,200.

PiggyRent also found that when a building lists two or more units with the identical floor plan, 53% of the time they are $100 or more a month apart.

What renters can do

Compare by square foot. PiggyRent says the median one-bedroom listed in Los Angeles is 692 square feet, at about $3.69 a square foot. Divide your rent by your square footage to see where you sit.
Ask about other units. The same floor plan in the same building can list for different prices.
Ask about move-in specials. Listing rents don't subtract free weeks or other deals.
Ask which number. If someone cites "average rent," ask whose figure it is and whether it covers big new complexes or the whole market.

Why it matters for the 105 corridor

About 54% of L.A. County households rent, according to Census figures cited by RentCafe. Even with county rents roughly flat this year, a $2,455 average one-bedroom in a large complex adds up to $29,460 a year.

Want more local news? Read more at The Southbound 105.

Cover photo: Downtowngal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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