Apartments Near UCLA: Rents by ZIP, Commutes and Neighborhoods (2026)

Last updated: October 29, 2026. By the Apartments Club Editorial Team.

UCLA sits in Westwood, one of the most expensive rental markets in Los Angeles, and the campus is surrounded by neighborhoods that trade distance for price. If you are a student, staff member, or someone working at the UCLA medical center, the choice usually comes down to three things: how much you can pay, whether you want to walk or ride a bus, and how much traffic you can tolerate on the 405 and Wilshire corridors. This guide pulls current rents for the ZIP codes around campus, explains what they mean, and points you to our deeper neighborhood guides.

Rents in ZIP codes near UCLA

ZIP	Area	Zillow ZORI (Sep 2026)	ZORI change vs Sep 2025	HUD SAFMR studio	HUD SAFMR 1BR	HUD SAFMR 2BR
90024	Westwood / UCLA	$3,512	+1.6%	$3,080	$3,450	$4,300
90025	West LA / Sawtelle	$3,216	+0.3%	$3,070	$3,440	$4,290
90034	Palms	$2,728	+0.3%	$2,560	$2,870	$3,580
90064	Rancho Park / Cheviot Hills	$3,492	+2.3%	$3,120	$3,490	$4,350
90035	Beverlywood / Pico-Robertson	$3,326	+0.4%	$2,800	$3,130	$3,910

Sources: Zillow ZORI (September 2026) and HUD FY2026 Small Area FMRs. See methodology below.

ZIP-by-ZIP notes

90024 (Westwood / UCLA): the typical Zillow asking rent rose over the past year (+1.6%) to $3,512. That is $62 above HUD’s one-bedroom SAFMR of $3,450, so a typical one-bedroom here may sit near local voucher payment standards.
90025 (West LA / Sawtelle): the typical Zillow asking rent was roughly flat over the past year (+0.3%) to $3,216. That is $224 below HUD’s one-bedroom SAFMR of $3,440, so a typical one-bedroom here may sit near local voucher payment standards.
90034 (Palms): the typical Zillow asking rent was roughly flat over the past year (+0.3%) to $2,728. That is $142 below HUD’s one-bedroom SAFMR of $2,870, so a typical one-bedroom here may sit near local voucher payment standards.
90064 (Rancho Park / Cheviot Hills): the typical Zillow asking rent rose over the past year (+2.3%) to $3,492. That is $2 above HUD’s one-bedroom SAFMR of $3,490, so a typical one-bedroom here may sit near local voucher payment standards.
90035 (Beverlywood / Pico-Robertson): the typical Zillow asking rent was roughly flat over the past year (+0.4%) to $3,326. That is $196 above HUD’s one-bedroom SAFMR of $3,130, so a typical one-bedroom here may sit near local voucher payment standards.

Getting to campus

Westwood (90024) is the walking option. North Village, the apartment-dense streets between campus and Wilshire, puts most buildings within a 5 to 20 minute walk of classes. That convenience is why ZIP 90024 has the highest typical Zillow rent in this table. Expect older dingbat and mid-century buildings north of Wilshire, plus newer high-rises along the Wilshire corridor that price well above the average.

Sawtelle and West LA (90025) are a short bus ride or bike trip away. Big Blue Bus and Metro routes run on Wilshire, Santa Monica Boulevard and Sepulveda, and many residents bike to campus using the routes around Sawtelle and Ohio Avenue. Sawtelle Japantown has a dense food scene and a mix of older apartments and newer mid-rise buildings.

Palms (90034) is the classic budget pick for UCLA students. It is a dense apartment neighborhood south of the 10, served by Culver CityBus Line 6 and Rapid 6 on Sepulveda, which run north toward the UCLA campus. The E Line’s Palms station also connects Palms with Culver City, Santa Monica and Downtown. Its typical rent is the lowest of the ZIP codes listed here.

Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills (90064) are quieter and more residential, with a larger share of duplexes and small buildings. Prices are close to Westwood’s, so they appeal more to staff and graduate students with families than to undergraduates.

Beverlywood and Pico-Robertson (90035) sit further east. The commute usually runs on Pico or Olympic toward Westwood Boulevard. Rents are high, but the neighborhood offers larger units and a slower pace.

The Metro D Line subway extension is being built west along Wilshire toward a Westwood/VA Hospital station, which should eventually make car-free trips from Koreatown and Downtown more realistic. Check Metro’s project page for the current opening schedule rather than planning a lease around it.

Which area fits which renter

Undergraduates who value walking and campus life usually choose Westwood and accept smaller spaces or roommates. Students on a tight budget often choose Palms, where the same money buys more space and the bus ride is manageable outside peak hours. Graduate students and staff often prefer Sawtelle for its food, shorter bike rides, and access to Santa Monica. If you have a car and work at the medical center at odd hours, Rancho Park’s quieter streets and easier parking can matter more than walkability.

Timing matters as much as location. Westwood’s market follows the academic calendar: many leases turn over in summer, and the best units near campus are often taken by spring. If you are searching in winter, you may find fewer options but more room to negotiate. Palms and West LA follow the broader city market and turn over year-round.

Watch for furnished student housing that bills per bedroom. These listings can look affordable, but compare the total per person with a regular two-bedroom lease split with a roommate, and read the policies on summer subleases and early termination before signing.

What the numbers mean for your budget

Across the ZIP codes in the table, the typical Zillow asking rent runs from $2,728 to $3,512 a month. Using the common 30%-of-gross-income guideline that HUD also uses as its affordability benchmark, a $2,728 rent points to a gross income of about $109,100 a year, and $3,512 points to roughly $140,500. Many renters near UCLA split a larger unit with roommates to get under those thresholds, so it is worth checking the per-person cost of a two-bedroom against a studio before you decide.

HUD’s one-bedroom SAFMRs for the same ZIP codes range from $2,870 to $3,490. If you use a Housing Choice Voucher, your housing authority sets payment standards from these figures, so a unit priced above the local payment standard may leave you paying the difference. If you do not use a voucher, the SAFMR is still a useful second opinion: when a ZIP’s ZORI is far above its SAFMR, the listings you see online are probably newer or larger units than the area average.

Plan for move-in cash, too. In California, most landlords may charge no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit for leases starting on or after July 1, 2024 (some small landlords may charge two). Our Move-In Cost Calculator adds the deposit, first month, fees and moving costs, and the Rent Affordability Calculator works backward from your income.

Checklist before you sign near UCLA

Check whether the building is covered by the City of LA Rent Stabilization Ordinance on ZIMAS (Housing tab). If it is, annual increases are capped; see our LA RSO Allowable Rent Increase Calculator. Units outside the City of LA may fall under state law (AB 1482) or a local ordinance instead.
Walk or ride the actual commute at the time you would travel. A 2-mile trip can take 10 minutes or 40 depending on the hour.
Ask what utilities are included. HUD’s SAFMR assumes rent plus basic utilities, while most listings quote rent only.
Confirm parking: permit districts, garage fees and street-sweeping days add real cost.
Never wire a deposit before seeing the unit and verifying the landlord. Our guide to spotting rental scams lists the warning signs.
Use our apartment tour checklist during viewings.

Related guides

Sources and methodology

Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), ZIP level, all homes plus multifamily, smoothed, September 2026 value (most recent month available), downloaded October 29, 2026 from Zillow Research Data. ZORI is a typical asking rent across unit sizes. It is not a quote for any specific apartment.
HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMR), FY2026 revised file (effective May 21, 2026), from HUD USER. SAFMRs are gross-rent estimates (rent plus basic utilities) used for Housing Choice Voucher payment standards. Values shown are the base SAFMR, not the 90% or 110% payment standard.
Year-over-year change compares the ZORI value for September 2026 to September 2025 in the same file.
Commute and transit notes are based on public Metro and campus information. Service changes often, so check metro.net before you sign a lease.

Read more about how we source and update data in our Editorial Standards & Sources.