Where to Live Near UCLA: Westwood vs Palms vs Sawtelle Rent (2026)

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

Westwood is the obvious place to live if you’re going to UCLA. It’s also one of the more expensive parts of the city. Zillow’s data puts the typical rent in the Westwood ZIP (90024) at about $3,512 a month in September 2026, against roughly $2,772 for the City of Los Angeles overall. The good news for students is that cheaper options are only a short bus or bike ride away.

This is the first article in our Student Housing Near UCLA & USC series. Here we compare the ZIP codes around UCLA. Part two covers living near USC on a budget, and part three covers the Metro E Line corridor that links the two.

About the numbers: every rent figure in this article comes from the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), ZIP-code level, 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.

ZIP codes around UCLA ranked by typical rent

ZIP	Area (approx.)	Typical rent, Sep 2026	Change vs Sep 2025
90034	Palms	$2,728	+0.3%
90066	Mar Vista	$3,028	+0.9%
90025	Sawtelle / West LA	$3,216	+0.3%
90035	Beverlywood / Pico-Robertson	$3,326	+0.4%
90230	Culver City (separate city)	$3,363	+4.1%
90064	Rancho Park / Cheviot Hills	$3,492	+2.3%
90024	Westwood (UCLA campus area)	$3,512	+1.6%
90049	Brentwood	$3,748	+1.3%

Source: Zillow ZORI, ZIP level, September 2026 vs September 2025.

Palms: the value pick

Palms (90034) has the lowest typical rent in this group, about $784 a month less than Westwood. It’s a dense neighborhood of mid-size apartment buildings, many of them older and possibly covered by the City of LA’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance. It’s also on the Metro E Line (Palms station), and it’s a common choice for UCLA grad students. The trade-off is the commute. Palms is a few miles south of campus, so you’ll be relying on a bus, a bike or the occasional car ride rather than walking.

Sawtelle and West LA: close, with lots of food

The 90025 ZIP covers Sawtelle and much of West LA, just across the 405 from campus. It’s cheaper than Westwood and still close enough for a bike commute. Sawtelle Boulevard’s restaurants are a big part of the appeal.

Westwood itself: pay for the walk

Living in 90024 means you can walk to class, which is worth something if you don’t have a car. Students commonly share units in the blocks south and west of campus to bring the per-person cost down. Rent there is noticeably higher than in Palms.

Mar Vista, Rancho Park and Culver City

Mar Vista (90066) and Rancho Park (90064) are quieter and more residential, with typical rents between Palms and Westwood. Culver City is a separate city with its own rental rules, and its 90230 ZIP comes in near Westwood’s level. See our Culver City neighborhood guide. Brentwood (90049) is the most expensive ZIP in this group.

What the per-person math looks like

Take Palms as an example. Splitting the typical $2,728 rent two ways works out to about $1,364 per person per month, before utilities. A typical rent is a mix of unit sizes, so a real two-bedroom may cost more, but sharing is still the single biggest way to save. Run your own numbers in our rent affordability calculator.

Student-specific tips

• Use your school’s off-campus housing office. UCLA Housing runs a Community Housing Office, and USC Housing has off-campus resources. Both list rentals and offer guidance for students renting in the neighborhood.
• Splitting with roommates is the biggest lever. The typical rents below cover all unit sizes. A two-bedroom shared by two people is usually far cheaper per person than a studio. Put the split in writing. Our roommate agreement guide shows you how.
• Plan for a guarantor. Many landlords ask students without income history for a co-signer. Have that paperwork ready. Our rental application tips cover what to bring.
• Lease timing. Most leases near campus turn over in summer. Starting your search in spring gives you more choice. If you need to leave early, read how breaking a lease works before you sign a 12-month lease for a 9-month school year.
• Transit passes. LA Metro offers discounted passes for college students through participating schools. Check current options at metro.net/riding/fares and with your school’s transportation office.

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: Westwood Village, Los Angeles, California (3124966155).jpg by Ken Lund, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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.