Living here
What renters actually pay, by number of bedrooms, and how Palmdale compares with California and the US.
Median rent
$1,736/mo
29% above US
1 bedroom
$1,218/mo
3% above US
2 bedrooms
$1,505/mo
12% above US
Renters paying 30%+ of income
63%
US 50%
Renter households
15,720
Median gross rent (contract rent plus utilities) for occupied rental units, by bedrooms. Income needed uses the 30% rule.
Nearby cities are other Local City Network guides in California, nearest first.
At 30% of income you can spend about $1,505 a month.
Green means the median Palmdale rent for that size fits your budget. Landlords often ask for income of 2.5–3× the monthly rent.
63% of Palmdale renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent, and 37% spend half or more. The typical renter household puts 38.6% of its income toward rent (US: 50% and 25%).
Median gross rent for each ZIP Code Tabulation Area that overlaps Palmdale.
HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area are the payment benchmarks for housing vouchers (about the 40th percentile of recent movers’ rents), so they often differ from the medians above.
A DRIVE AROUND TOWN
This recorded regional drive starts in Palmdale and continues toward La Cañada Flintridge. The mountain-road journey is not limited to Palmdale, and access can change with weather and closures.
Watch on YouTube ↗The median gross rent (rent plus utilities) is $1,736 a month, 11% below the California median and 29% above the national median.
The median one-bedroom rents for $1,218 a month (US: $1,180).
The median two-bedroom rents for $1,505 a month (US: $1,338).
Using the common 30% rule, a median two-bedroom ($1,505) takes a household income of about $60,200 a year, and a one-bedroom about $48,720.
About 63% of Palmdale renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent, and 37% spend at least half (US: 50% and 25%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables B25031, B25070 and B25071). Estimates have margins of error; figures are in 2023 dollars.