RENT OR BUY

Rent or buy in Santa Ana, CA?

Median rent against median home value across Santa Ana, and how both have moved since 2019.

Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, HUD, and FHFA. Santa Ana's figures come from federal surveys and indexes, not live listings. They lag the market by one to two years and cover the whole city, with no ZIP-code detail. Our RentCast-backed cities use current asking rents and list prices by ZIP code.

The median rent in Santa Ana was $2,184 a month in 2024, and the median home was valued at $772,600. That puts the price-to-rent ratio at 29.5: a typical home is worth 29.5 years of rent.

Santa Ana rent and home values, 2019 to 2024

Santa Ana, CA: Census ACS medians, 2019 and 2024
20192024Average change
Median gross rent$1,632/mo$2,184/mo+6.0%/yr
Median home value$558,400$772,600+6.7%/yr

Rent by bedroom count

Santa Ana, CA: median gross rent by bedrooms, Census ACS 2024
BedroomsMedian gross rent
Studio$1,620/mo
1 bedroom$1,833/mo
2 bedrooms$2,296/mo
3 bedrooms$2,602/mo

How to read these numbers

Gross rent is what renters actually pay, including utilities, across every rental in the city, not just the ones on the market. Home value is what owners say their home would sell for. Both are survey medians for 2024, so they trail today's market. The price-to-rent ratio is a quick way to compare cities; a higher ratio means buying is expensive relative to renting.

For where prices have gone since, see the Santa Ana home value forecast and the Santa Ana rent forecast.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (2019, 2023, 2024) forSanta Ana (Santa Ana city, California); medians are shown only when their margin of error is within 10%. How Predictye calculates this.

Frequently asked questions

How much is rent in Santa Ana, CA?

The median gross rent, including utilities, was $2,184 a month in 2024, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

How much are homes worth in Santa Ana, CA?

The median owner-occupied home was valued at $772,600 in 2024. That's owners' own estimate of their home's value, not a sale price.

What is the price-to-rent ratio in Santa Ana, CA?

About 29.5: the median home value equals 29.5 years of median rent.

Forecast a specific ZIP's home values