This is our October 2026 report covering September 2026 rental data for Long Beach, CA.
Long Beach occupies a rare niche in Southern California: a working waterfront city with genuine beach neighborhoods, a thriving arts scene, and a renter base that runs from port logistics workers and CSULB students to military families near Los Alamitos and professionals commuting up the Metro A Line to Los Angeles. This report breaks down September 2026 rents across Long Beach, tracks what's moving the market right now, and draws out what it all means if you own rental property here.
Long Beach Rental Market Snapshot — September 2026
Here's where Long Beach rents landed in September 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
Long Beach median rent came in at $2,029 in September 2026, up just 0.58% year-over-year and essentially flat month-over-month, with homes sitting on the market for 76 days before leasing. That combination of near-zero rent growth and a long average days-on-market means landlords pricing above current market rates are likely absorbing extended vacancies rather than capturing any meaningful upside.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types, Long Beach) | $2,029 | +0.6% YoY |
| Avg. Days on Market | 76 days | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types in Long Beach, CA, September 2026.
What's Driving Long Beach Rental Market Conditions Right Now
Long Beach Rental Supply & New Construction
New multifamily supply is concentrating along Long Beach's major commercial corridors, particularly the Long Beach Boulevard spine through central Long Beach and the PCH corridor in the eastern part of the city, where large-scale residential conversions of former retail and office sites are reshaping the rental landscape. One project alone at the former City Place shopping center is phased to deliver up to 900 apartments, while two separate developments along the eastern PCH stretch would add roughly 900 more units combined. From January 2023 through November 2025, the city approved entitlements for 5,210 units averaging more than 1,700 per year, the fastest pace of housing approvals since the 1980s, so owners with properties near those corridors are competing in a market that will only get more crowded over the next few years.
Why People Rent in Long Beach
Long Beach draws renters who want Los Angeles access without Los Angeles rents: the Metro A Line puts downtown LA within reach without a car, and the city's median rents run well below Westside and South Bay coastal markets. The Port of Long Beach anchors a massive local employment base, supporting nearly one in five jobs in the city, which keeps blue- and white-collar demand deep across a wide range of unit types and price points. Renters who can't afford to buy in Southern California, where ownership costs have remained far above renting on a monthly basis, keep Long Beach's renter pool large and relatively stable even when conditions soften.
Long Beach Rental Market Outlook
Long Beach rents are drifting sideways under meaningful pressure: the blended median landed at $2,029 in September 2026, up just 0.58% year-over-year and down 0.37% from August, while homes sat on market an average of 76 days. The Port's 13% import decline is a live risk for local employment demand, and a growing supply pipeline along the Boulevard and PCH corridors will add downward pressure on rents as those projects deliver. With the peak leasing season now behind you and days on market already elevated, price your vacancy at or below comparable listings right now rather than holding out for a higher number, because carrying costs on a vacant unit for several additional weeks will outpace any premium you might recover.
Where Rental Demand Concentrates in Long Beach — September 2026
Demand in Long Beach splits along a clear fault line: coastal and transit-connected neighborhoods pull young professionals, while school-zone anchors concentrate family renters in the city's interior. Along the 2nd Street corridor, Belmont Shore draws working professionals and couples who want walkable beach access without a car, backed by a dense dining-and-retail streetscape that makes the neighborhood function more like an urban village than a typical SoCal suburb. A few miles north, Bixby Knolls attracts families with children specifically because of Long Beach Polytechnic High's A-plus rating and Grammy Award-winning music program, Hughes Middle School's robotics track, and Longfellow Elementary's A-minus score, all within Long Beach Unified. The 405, 710, 91, and 605 freeways converge nearby, which broadens the renter pool to dual-income households who need flexible commute options across the broader Greater Los Angeles area (GLA).
Further east, El Dorado Park holds steady family demand through Newcomb Academy, a 10/10 GreatSchools-rated K-8 National Blue Ribbon School, and draws a consistent military household segment tied to Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos. Adjacent Los Altos, the closest residential pocket to Cal State Long Beach, fills with students and young renters occupying converted back houses and garage units in the campus's 1950s tract grid. Downtown Long Beach rounds out the picture: studio demand there surged 45% year-over-year, fueled by the East Village Arts District corridor and Metro A Line access for renters who commute into GLA but want Long Beach rents.
Long Beach Rent by Bedroom Count — September 2026
Long Beach single-family rents scale steeply with bedroom count in September 2026. Two-bedroom SFRs rented at $2,409, while three-bedrooms came in at $3,524, a $1,115 jump that reflects strong demand from families targeting neighborhoods like El Dorado Park for school access and Bixby Knolls for its freeway connectivity. The step from three to four bedrooms added another $554, bringing four-bedroom SFRs to $4,078. Owners of larger homes in family-oriented pockets can still command a meaningful premium, but the three-to-four-bedroom gap is noticeably narrower than the two-to-three-bedroom gap, so pricing a four-bedroom home competitively against comparable listings matters more than it might at smaller sizes.
| Bedrooms | SFR Median Rent |
|---|---|
| 2-Bedroom | $2,409 |
| 3-Bedroom | $3,524 |
| 4-Bedroom | $4,078 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, single-family properties, September 2026. |
Where to Rent in Long Beach by Property Type — September 2026
Where to Rent a Single-Family Home in Long Beach
Single-family rental stock in Long Beach concentrates in Bixby Knolls and El Dorado Park, two neighborhoods where school district quality and freeway access drive consistent family demand. Bixby Knolls sits along Atlantic Avenue with connections to the 405, 710, 91, and 605, and its Long Beach Unified schools include Long Beach Polytechnic High (A-plus rated, with a Grammy Award-winning music program), making it a draw for families who need regional commute flexibility alongside strong academics. El Dorado Park anchors demand even more tightly around Newcomb Academy, a 10/10 GreatSchools-rated K-8 National Blue Ribbon School, and pulls a steady stream of military families relocating near Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos.
Where to Rent an Apartment or Condo in Long Beach
Apartments and condos cluster along the 2nd Street corridor in Belmont Shore and in Downtown Long Beach, two nodes built around density, transit, and walkability rather than yard space. Belmont Shore attracts working professionals and couples who trade square footage for beach access and a car-light lifestyle along a dining-and-retail streetscape, while Downtown studios have surged 45% year-over-year, pulled by the East Village Arts District's gallery-and-coffee-shop corridor and Metro A Line access for commuters headed into Greater Los Angeles. Los Altos, the residential pocket adjacent to Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), rounds out the apartment landscape with converted back houses and upstairs units that absorb student and staff demand from the university.
Data Sources & Methodology
- Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
- Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed single-family homes, including days to lease. Long Beach, CA, trailing 12 months.
Data refreshed monthly. Doorstead benchmarks reflect managed properties only and may not be representative of the broader Long Beach, CA rental market.