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It’s increasingly pricey to live in Redwood City, where the cost of renting an apartment is rising faster than in neighboring cities, according to newly published rental data.
A new market trends report from Rent.com, an online marketplace, shows big increases in the cost of apartment rentals in Redwood City, which have risen significantly more than in neighboring cities. Compared to last year, the cost of renting a studio is up 51% and a three-bedroom is up 50%, with the average rent for an apartment hovering between $2,900 and $5,300.
Compared to downtown Redwood City, Redwood Oaks and Redwood Shores, the Palm Park neighborhood saw the biggest local increase with one-bedroom apartment rent up 16% and two-bedroom apartment rent up 20% in the last year.
Rising costs spell increasingly tight belts for Redwood City’s more than 15,000 renters. Over half of Redwood City’s housing units are occupied by renters, according to 2020 estimates from the United States Census Bureau. By comparison, roughly 40% of San Mateo County housing units are rentals.
These data come as thousands are facing housing instability since the end of California's eviction moratorium. State laws—including the California COVID-19 Tenant Relief and Rental Housing Recovery acts—that were enacted during the pandemic and protected tenants affected by financial hardship, expired on March 31, leaving thousands of people in San Mateo County with high rent payments and looming eviction.
The number of missed rent payments increased dramatically over the first year of the pandemic, according to a Community Needs Assessment Survey conducted by Redwood City Together and published by the Stanford Gardner Center in September 2021.
Even as housing insecurity remains a top issue among Redwood City residents, the city’s average cost of one- and two-bedroom apartments exceeds those in neighboring San Carlos, Belmont, San Mateo and Menlo Park.
