California: Cheapest Counties to Rent

What "cheapest" really means for California renters

These rankings are drawn directly from HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, which reports the 40th percentile of gross rents (utilities included, except telephone) for every county in California. The cheapest 1-bedroom here is Modoc County at $883, with a studio at $774, 2-bedroom at $1,108, 3-bedroom at $1,434, and 4-bedroom at $1,831. Because HUD sets FMR per county (or per metro), these are the official rent ceilings that local housing authorities use to set Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher payment standards, typically 90%–110% of FMR, which means they are also the closest thing to a documented "floor" for the county rental market.

Compared with the California state average of $1,647 for a 1-bedroom, the cheapest county is 46% below the state benchmark, and 8% below the US average of $959. Across the 50 counties in this ranking, the spread between the cheapest and most expensive is wide enough that renters can see meaningfully different budgets within the same state simply by moving FMR areas. "Cheapest" does not mean "least desirable" - rural and small-metro counties frequently rank cheapest because HUD's sample of comparable rental units reflects lower-density housing and lower local wages, not lower quality per se.

For budgeting, the 30% affordability rule implies a household needs roughly $35,320/year to afford the cheapest 1-bedroom FMR in California without being cost-burdened, far less than the $65,880/year needed to afford the state average. For voucher recipients, movers, or anyone prioritizing low rent, California's cheapest counties typically cluster in non-metro FMR areas where the HUD sample is anchored to smaller rental stocks. Pair this ranking with the year-over-year FMR growth and rent burden pages to see whether today's cheapest counties are holding steady, tightening, or becoming burdened as incomes fail to keep pace.