Rents are 14% below what Imperial Beach's 10-year trend predicts — a better deal than its own history suggests.
Rent by unit size
These are HUD Fair Market Rents, the payment standard for a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8). They often differ from the $2,822 market median above, and that is expected: FMR is the 40th percentile of standard-quality units and counts gross rent, so it includes essential utilities such as electricity, water, gas, sewer, and trash. The market median is asking rent, which usually excludes utilities. HUD sets FMR once a year; market rent here updates monthly.
Source: HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents. Read the methodology →
12-month history
Last updated: October 17, 2026
What the numbers show
January. Asking rents in Imperial Beach usually run 1.1% below trend in January and 0.9% above it in October, about $56 a month apart at today's median. Based on 11 years of data.
Rent in Imperial Beach is 1.4% below its high of $2,862 in May 2026, at $2,822 as of September 2026.
Rent in Imperial Beach changed -1.3% over the year to September 2026. Across the 336 California cities Zillow tracks, the typical change was +3.4%.
From 2019 to 2024, rent in Imperial Beach rose 49.7% while median household income rose 60.4% ($53,690 to $86,111). Income kept ahead of rent.
Rent in Imperial Beach is 45.1% higher than in March 2020. Across the US, rent is up 37.3% over the same stretch.
Rent has fallen 4 months in a row, and rose in 4 of the last 12 months.
30% of the median household income ($86,111) is $2,153 a month. That covers HUD's Fair Market Rent for up to a 1-bedroom ($2,080); a 2-bedroom is $2,570.
National City, 7 miles away, rents for 14% less ($2,426/mo), about $4,800 a year in savings.
From Zillow's monthly rent index (ZORI) for Imperial Beach. The seasonal pattern compares Zillow’s seasonally adjusted and unadjusted series. Income is the Census median household income (5-year estimates). Fair Market Rents are HUD’s, which include utilities.
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Who lives here
Imperial Beach, CA is majority renter-occupied, 26.7% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates
How Imperial Beach, CA has changed in 5 years
Compared with 2021, rent in Imperial Beach, CA has increased by $700 per month, settling near $2,822 after starting the period at $2,122. Median household income grew from $68,917 to $86,111 between 2021 and 2024, a 24.9% shift. Rent outpaced income growth by roughly 8.1 percentage points, which means renters are spending a larger slice of each paycheck on housing than they did in 2021. Headcount in the area went from 26,375 to 25,764 between 2021 and 2024, a 2.3% change. Educational attainment has shifted as well, with the share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher climbed from 23.4% to 26.7%. Taken together, the five-year picture in Imperial Beach, CA reflects how housing costs and the people paying them have evolved through a stretch that included a pandemic, a hot rental market, and a recent cooling phase.
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Can you afford rent in Imperial Beach on your salary?
At $2,822/mo, how Imperial Beach rent compares to typical pay (30% rule).
Imperial Beach rent by bedroom count
Median rent for each apartment size in Imperial Beach. Click any size for full breakdown.
Tips for renters in Imperial Beach
Last updated: October 17, 2026
The median rent in Imperial Beach is $2,822/mo as of October 2026. A studio apartment averages $1,910/mo while a 2-bedroom runs $2,570/mo. One-bedroom apartments average $2,080/mo and 3-bedroom units go for $3,440/mo.
At 39% of local median household income ($86,111/yr), Imperial Beach ranks as moderate compared to the national benchmark of 30%. Rents have decreased 1.3% over the past year.
Frequently asked questions
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Which nearby cities are cheaper to rent in than Imperial Beach?
At $2,822/mo, rent takes ~39% of Imperial Beach's median household income ($86,111/yr). The standard benchmark is 30%.
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Estimated from ZIP-level data
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