Cheapest Westside LA Neighborhoods to Rent in 2026

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

The Westside is where a lot of Angelenos want to live: near the beach, closer to the cooler coastal air, and close to Silicon Beach jobs. It’s also where rents climb fastest. But “the Westside” covers a wide range. In Zillow’s September 2026 data, typical rents run from about $2,728 in Palms to about $4,591 in Playa Vista.

This is part four of our Cheapest LA Neighborhoods to Rent series. Earlier parts covered the cheapest City of LA ZIPs, the San Fernando Valley and the areas around Downtown.

About the numbers: every rent figure in this article comes from the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), at the ZIP-code level for City of LA areas and the city level for separate cities, all homes plus multifamily, smoothed, for September 2026 (the latest month published when we wrote this), compared with September 2025. ZORI measures the typical asking rent for listed units in the middle of the market (roughly the 35th to 65th percentile), so it covers all unit sizes together. It is not a per-bedroom figure, and you will find listings above and below it. ZIP codes don’t line up exactly with neighborhood borders, so read each ZIP as an approximation of the area named next to it.

Westside areas ranked by typical rent

Area	ZIP / level	Typical rent, Sep 2026	Change vs Sep 2025
Palms	90034	$2,728	+0.3%
Westchester	90045	$2,950	-0.1%
Mar Vista	90066	$3,028	+0.9%
Sawtelle / West LA	90025	$3,216	+0.3%
Playa del Rey	90293	$3,219	+3.8%
West Hollywood (city)	city-wide	$3,292	+1.0%
Beverlywood / Pico-Robertson	90035	$3,326	+0.4%
Rancho Park / Cheviot Hills	90064	$3,492	+2.3%
Westwood	90024	$3,512	+1.6%
Santa Monica (city)	city-wide	$3,516	+1.5%
Culver City (city)	city-wide	$3,521	+2.3%
Brentwood	90049	$3,748	+1.3%
Venice	90291	$3,825	+3.3%
Beverly Hills (city)	city-wide	$4,016	+4.3%
Playa Vista	90094	$4,591	+1.1%

Source: Zillow ZORI (ZIP and city level), September 2026 vs September 2025.

For reference, the citywide typical rent for Los Angeles was about $2,772.

Palms and Mar Vista: the Westside’s value core

Palms (90034) is the cheapest Westside ZIP in our table, and Mar Vista (90066) is close behind, along with Westchester. Both have dense stocks of 1950s to 1970s apartment buildings, which means many units may fall under the City of LA’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Palms is on the Metro E Line. Mar Vista is a short drive or bike ride from Venice and Culver City. See also our UCLA area rent comparison.

Westchester and Playa del Rey: near LAX and the coast

Westchester (90045), next to LMU and LAX, and Playa del Rey (90293) are often overlooked. They’re among the cheaper Westside options and stay cooler than inland areas. Aircraft noise varies a lot from street to street, so visit at different times of day.

Sawtelle, West LA and Westwood

These central Westside ZIPs sit in the middle of the range. They’re close to job centers along Wilshire and in Century City, and a short trip to UCLA.

The premium beach and hillside end

Venice, Playa Vista and Brentwood sit at the top for City of LA ZIPs. Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood are separate cities, so we show them at the city level. Santa Monica has its own rent control program for many older units, run by the Santa Monica Rent Control Board. That can make an older Santa Monica unit good value over the long run, even when asking rents are high. Our Santa Monica renter’s guide, Venice guide and West Hollywood guide go deeper. For a full-service building, see The Park Santa Monica and 700 Broadway in our luxury building profiles.

City rules differ. Separate cities like Santa Monica, Culver City, Pasadena and others have their own rental rules. Some have local rent control or just-cause ordinances, and some rely only on California’s statewide AB 1482 cap. Check the city’s housing department website for any unit you’re considering. The City of LA’s RSO applies only inside LA city limits.

How we picked the areas

We included every area in this part of the county that Zillow tracks and that has enough rental listings to publish a typical-rent figure. Inside the City of Los Angeles, we used ZIP codes so neighborhoods show up separately. For separate cities, we used Zillow’s city-level figure, which blends all of that city’s ZIPs. A few smaller places don’t appear because Zillow doesn’t publish a reliable figure for them. Rents change every month, and we’ll update this table as new data comes out.

Westside money-savers

• Parking: many older Westside buildings have limited parking. A garage space can cost extra, so ask.
• Ask about concessions in newer buildings, such as a free month or reduced deposits. ZORI tracks asking rent, not net effective rent.
• Negotiate renewals: with most Westside ZIPs moving only a few percent a year, you have room to negotiate your lease renewal.

Frequently asked questions

How often is this rent data updated?

Zillow publishes ZORI once a month, usually around the middle of the month, covering the previous month. We plan to refresh the tables in this series when new data comes out. You can always download the raw files from Zillow Research yourself.

Why does my listing search show higher prices than the table?

Listing sites usually sort by newest or featured, and newer, larger and renovated units get the most exposure. ZORI is a middle-of-the-market measure across all unit sizes, so a typical studio will often cost less than the figure shown and a typical two-bedroom more. Use the table to compare areas, not to predict the rent on any one apartment.

Is a rent-stabilized apartment always cheaper?

Not on day one. Under the RSO, a landlord can generally set the rent at market rate when a new tenant moves in. The benefit is that annual increases afterward are limited to the amount the city sets each year. The LA Housing Department publishes the current allowable increase. Over a multi-year stay, that limit can be worth more than a lower starting rent somewhere else.

Are these areas safe?

Safety varies block by block, so we don’t rate whole ZIP codes. Visit at night and on weekends, talk to current tenants if you can, and check the LAPD’s official crime mapping and statistics for the exact address.

Before you sign: how to make a cheaper neighborhood actually cheaper

A lower rent only helps if the rest of the deal holds up. Some checks to run on any listing in these ZIPs:

• Find out if the unit is rent-stabilized. In the City of Los Angeles, the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) generally covers rental units built on or before October 1, 1978. These areas have plenty of older buildings, so an RSO unit is common, and that limits how much your rent can go up each year. You can look up any address on the LA Housing Department site. Newer buildings may still fall under California’s statewide cap (AB 1482).
• Know the deposit rules. Since July 1, 2024, California’s AB 12 caps most security deposits at one month’s rent. Our guide on getting your security deposit back covers what happens when you move out.
• Budget for the full monthly cost. Add parking, utilities and renters insurance, then run the total through our rent affordability calculator. Our guide to how much rent you can afford explains the 30% rule and where it falls short.
• Watch for scams. Below-market listings attract fake ones. Read how to spot a rental scam before you send money to anyone.
• Get your application ready early. Good-value units in these ZIPs go fast. Our rental application tips cover the documents landlords ask for.

Looking, or renting one out?

Our free Apartments Club rentals board is new. Landlords and property managers in these neighborhoods can list a rental for free. If you’re still deciding where to live, start with our LA neighborhood guides.

Featured image: Mar Vista.jpg by Phatblackmama, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources: Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), as cited in the text above. Figures reflect the data release noted where they appear; listings and prices change. How we source and update data: Editorial Standards & Sources.