Los Angeles County rents fall to 4‑year low, yet grads still spend ~30% of income

A Realtor.com report released on July 30 shows that median asking rent in Los Angeles County fell to $2,603 for the April‑June 2026 quarter, a 3.4% drop from a year earlier and the lowest quarterly median since the end of 2021. The decline is linked to increased construction of multifamily housing and accessory‑dwelling units, which expanded the supply of smaller apartments.

Despite the easing rents, housing costs remain a heavy burden for recent college graduates. A typical studio apartment at $2,004 per month would consume about 25.7% of a new computer‑science graduate’s estimated $94,000 salary, and 30.4%–32.8% of earnings for business, social‑science and communications graduates. Overall, rents have fallen 9.6% since their 2022 peak, saving the average renter roughly $276 per month. Median rents for units with up to two bedrooms are $2,255, while three‑plus‑bedroom units average $3,441. Within the city of Los Angeles, the median asking rent was $2,742, down 2% from the previous year.