America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes for Renters, Where Rent Tops $10,000 a Month

The most expensive ZIP codes in America for renters are not a list of cities. They are a tour of gated enclaves, oceanfront colonies, and old-money suburbs where the typical monthly rent runs from about $8,000 to nearly $20,000. Against a US national median rent of roughly $1,951 a month, the priciest ZIP in the country charges more than ten times the norm.

Montecito's 93108 tops the country at $19,801 a month

The single most expensive ZIP code for renters is 93108 in Montecito, California, where the median rent reaches $19,801 a month. That is more than double the national median stacked on itself five times over. The hillside town north of Santa Barbara, home to a well-known roster of entertainment and tech figures, sits in a class of its own on rent, roughly $3,300 a month above the next ZIP on the list.

That runner-up is not in California at all. 11946 in Hampton Bays, New York, on the eastern end of Long Island, posts a median rent of $16,499. Third place goes to the Jersey Shore, where 08402 in Margate City commands $13,083, a reminder that seasonal beach markets can price rentals like year-round luxury metros.

California owns 9 of the 15 priciest rental ZIP codes

Below the top three, the coast of Southern California takes over. 90265 in Malibu runs $12,934, and the Los Angeles luxury corridor lines up right behind it: 90272 in Pacific Palisades at $12,386 and 90210 in Beverly Hills at $12,378 are separated by just $8 a month. Century City's 90067 at $10,390 and Bel Air's 90077 at $10,267 round out the ZIPs where median rent still clears the $10,000 line.

In all, California claims nine of the 15 most expensive rental ZIP codes. Connecticut lands two, in Westport and New Canaan, while New York adds Scarsdale and Tribeca, New Jersey holds Margate City, and Florida checks in with Key Biscayne. Every ZIP in the table below runs at least four times the national median, and the top of the list runs closer to ten.

The East Coast fills the $8,000 to $10,000 tier

The bottom half of the list is where geography spreads out. Westport, Connecticut, holds 06880 at $10,029, the last ZIP over the $10,000 mark. Santa Monica's 90402 at $9,279 keeps a California foothold, but the $8,000 tier tilts east. Scarsdale's 10583 runs $8,704 in Westchester County, and Tribeca's 10007 posts $8,568, the priciest Manhattan ZIP on the board and proof that a downtown loft can compete with a Malibu bluff.

Florida makes its only appearance through Key Biscayne, where 33149 charges $8,551, the island village off Miami trading on privacy and water access. Corona del Mar's 92625 in Newport Beach closes California's contribution at $8,413, and New Canaan's 06840 anchors the list at $8,289, a second Fairfield County commuter town where rent still runs more than four times the national figure.

What $8,000 to $20,000 rents say about scarcity

The pattern across all 15 ZIP codes is supply, not just prestige. These are markets with tight lot counts, strict development limits, and a resident base wealthy enough to rent rather than buy. The result is a rent floor that has almost nothing to do with the national market. A renter clearing the median in Montecito's 93108 pays more in one month, $19,801, than a renter at the US median pays across most of a year.

Rents come from RentDataNow, anchored to the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) at the ZIP-code level.