2026 BRINGS THE FIRST REPRIEVE IN RENT HIKES IN OVER 10 YEARS
Lack of affordable rental housing can lead to crowding, household stress, and an increased risk of eviction and homelessness. Less affordable rental housing also restricts the ability of renters to save for a down payment on a home, limiting their ability to generate wealth through homeownership. This indicator tracks the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area’s median rents, the hourly wage needed to afford median rent, and which growth occupations are able to afford the median rent in the region.
TREND
The Riverside-San Bernardino metro area’s housing wage decreased by 4% from 2025 to 2026.[1] This decrease in the hourly wage needed to afford a median-priced one-bedroom unit comes after several years of housing wage acceleration and is the first time in over 10 years that the housing wage has decreased. Still, over the last decade, the housing wage has doubled, from $18.40 in 2017 to $37.67 in 2026. The 2026 housing wage is comparable to an annual income of $78,360.[2]
RIVERSIDE-SAN BERNARDINO METRO AREA HOUSING WAGE DIPS 4%
Hourly Wage Needed to Afford a Median-priced One-bedroom Unit in Riverside-San Bernardino Metro Area, 2017-2026
After a sharp increase in median rents between 2024 and 2025, the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area experienced a partial correction in 2026, marking the first decrease in median rents in over 10 years. Median monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit in the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area was $2,038 in 2025, falling to $1,959 in 2026. Despite this one-year decline, as shown below, rents of units of all sizes have grown between 91% to 105% over the past 10 years, outpacing increases in the minimum wage.
RENTS DECLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 10 YEARS
Monthly Median Rents in Riverside-San Bernardino Metro Area, 2017-2026
The mean hourly wage across all occupations in the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area is $31.64, less than the housing wage needed to afford median-priced one-bedroom rent in Riverside-San Bernardino ($37.76). Across all occupations in the region, 76% have wages below the housing wage needed for a one-bedroom unit. Among six growth or common occupations in the region, on average, elementary school teachers and registered nurses earn above the housing wage needed to afford median one-bedroom rent. Whereas, on average, home health and personal care aides, retail salespersons, transportation and materials moving occupations (logistics), and construction and extraction occupations earn below the housing wage needed to afford median one-bedroom rent.
AVERAGE WAGES IN PERSONAL CARE, RETAIL, LOGISTICS, AND CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS FALL BELOW HOUSING WAGE
Average Hourly Wages for Growth or Common Occupations and Hourly Wage Needed to Afford Median One-Bedroom Rent in Riverside-San Bernardino Metro Area, 2025
GEOGRAPHIC COMPARISON
Despite the gap between rent and average wages for growing or common occupations, the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area continues to provide the most affordable rental housing in the southern California region. Looking at peer markets outside of California, the housing wages for a median one-bedroom unit in Phoenix and Las Vegas are $4.50 and $6.75 less per hour, respectively, than the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area.
In San Bernardino County, 50.5% of renting households pay 35% or more of their income on rent. This compares to 46.5% statewide and 42.3% nationwide.[3]
RIVERSIDE-SAN BERNARDINO METRO HOUSING WAGE REMAINS LOWER THAN NEIGHBORING CALIFORNIA METROS, BUT HIGHER THAN PHOENIX AND LAS VEGAS
Hourly Wage Needed to Afford Median Rent in San Bernardino and Peer Markets, 2026
What is Contributing to the Softening Rental Market?
After enduring year-over-year rent increases, renters can celebrate the cooling of the rental market in 2025 and 2026. This is playing out in move-in incentives and lower starting rent for people seeking rental housing, and a pause in annual rent hikes for current renters. Housing market analysts point to increasing rental inventory and higher vacancy rates contributing to the reprieve.
[1] The housing wage is an estimate of the hourly wage a full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fair market rent without spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
[2] Assumes 2,080 paid hours per year (52 weeks at 40 hours per week).
[3] U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, 2024 (DP04)