San Francisco, CA Homes For Rent

Homes for Rent in San Francisco, CA: What You Need to Know

If you left your heart in San Francisco, as the Tony Bennett song goes, you’re not alone. The City by the Bay is just the place that people from all over the world dream of.

A Booming Job Market

San Francisco and the Bay Area boasts of a $748 billion GDP, bigger than Switzerland’s $686 billion GDP. The San Francisco Bay Area includes San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Napa, Santa Rosa, and Vallejo-Fairfield. Some of the largest companies based in San Francisco are Twitter, Levi Strauss, Uber, Lyft, Visa, and Airbnb.

The Cost of Living in San Francisco

San Francisco (population: 881,549) is one of the world’s most expensive places to live in. The cost of living and food and housing costs are 62.5%, 30.5%, and 80.5% higher than the national average, respectively. Median gross rent in the city is $1,023 while the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $4,128. California levies 1% to 13.3% in state income tax depending on a person’s income bracket. Sales tax in California ranges from 7.25% to 10.50%. 

Know Your Neighborhoods

Affordability is a key consideration when looking for housing in San Francisco. SoMa, a huge neighborhood downtown, and India Basin are reasonable choices. SoMa is expected to add 8,800 new housing units and India Basin is planning to develop 1,500 additional residential units. It’s not uncommon for people who work in San Francisco to commute daily from suburbs 50 miles (or more) away. Oakland, Hayward, and Emeryville are affordable cities that will entail the shortest commute to San Francisco.

Things to Do in San Francisco

The Golden Gate Bridge, built in 1933, is the single most recognizable symbol of San Francisco. It’s also one of the city’s top attractions. The Fisherman's Wharf is another popular destination. The waterfront district includes Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, the Maritime Museum, and the Wax Museum. From the Fisherman's Wharf, you can take a ferry to Alcatraz Island, a military fort that became a maximum-security federal prison. Alcatraz held notorious prisoners such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and inspired movies such as “Escape from Alcatraz” (1979) and “Alcatraz” (2018).

Getting Around in the City

Between the traffic congestion and the steep streets of San Francisco, you might want to find an alternative to driving. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) manages the Municipal Railway (Muni for short) public transit and a network of environmentally friendly Muni buses, light rail Metro trains, streetcars, and cable cars. Three airports serve the San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport, and San Jose International Airport.