ZIP 92020
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12-month history
Last updated: October 17, 2026
What the numbers show
January. Asking rents in ZIP 92020 usually run 0.9% below trend in January and 1.2% above it in September, about $45 a month apart at today's median. Based on 10 years of data.
Rent in ZIP 92020 is 0.6% below its high of $2,137 in September 2025, at $2,124 as of September 2026.
Rent in ZIP 92020 changed -0.6% over the year to September 2026. Across the 819 California ZIP codes Zillow tracks, the typical change was +3.2%.
From 2019 to 2024, rent in ZIP 92020 rose 45.2% while median household income rose 28.5% ($59,151 to $76,032). Rent outpaced income.
Rent in ZIP 92020 is 45.6% higher than in March 2020. Across the US, rent is up 37.3% over the same stretch.
Rent rose in 5 of the last 12 months.
30% of the median household income ($76,032) is $1,901 a month. That is less than HUD's Fair Market Rent for a studio ($2,040).
1st cheapest of 3 ZIP codes in El Cajon.
From Zillow's monthly rent index (ZORI) for ZIP 92020. 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.
Who lives here
ZIP 92020 (El Cajon, CA) is majority renter-occupied, 27% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates
How ZIP 92020 in El Cajon, CA has changed in 5 years
Rent in ZIP 92020 in El Cajon, CA has climbed 35.5% since 2021, going from about $1,567 per month to roughly $2,124 today. Median household income grew from $64,691 to $76,032 between 2021 and 2024, a 17.5% shift. Rent outpaced income growth by roughly 18.0 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 60,222 to 57,842 between 2021 and 2024, a 4.0% change. About 55.6% of households rent today, against 57.9% in 2021. Taken together, the five-year picture in ZIP 92020 in El Cajon, 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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Tips for renters in ZIP 92020
Last updated: October 17, 2026
ZIP code 92020 covers El Cajon, CA. The median rent here is $2,124/mo as of October 2026. A 1-bedroom rents for a median of $2,190/mo. A 2-bedroom rents for a median of $2,670/mo.
At 34% of local median household income ($76,032/yr), ZIP 92020 ranks as moderate compared to the national benchmark of 30%. Rents have decreased 0.6% over the past year.
Frequently asked questions
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How does ZIP 92020 compare to the rest of El Cajon?
At $2,124/mo, rent takes ~34% of ZIP 92020's median household income ($76,032/yr). The standard benchmark is 30%.
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