Locator map of San Bernardino, CA
Locator map · boundaries: U.S. Census cartographic files (public domain) · marker at the city’s coordinates

Rental market · San Bernardino, CA · Incorporated city

San Bernardino, CA: average rent, home values, and rental yield

Pacific · Population 221,774

B54.3
#556 of 1,863 ranked markets
Overall Score 54.3 · stronger than 70% of ranked markets

How San Bernardino ranks nationally

Each bar places San Bernardino against all 1,863 ranked U.S. markets: the marker is this city and further right is more favorable to an investor; the tick marks the national median. Inverted measures (crime, vacancy, price-to-income) are already flipped so higher always means better here.

Overall Scorethe flagship rank
54.370th percentile
Cash Flowyield & affordability
3633rd percentile
Growthpopulation, jobs, income
7185th percentile
Stabilitycrime, vacancy, unemployment
6582nd percentile
Expense-adjusted yield2.6% net of costs
4949th percentile
Affordabilityprice-to-income 7.7×
13more affordable than 13%
Rental vacancy2.0% vacant
89tighter than 89%
Population growth0.4%/yr (capped)
4747th percentile
Job growth1.6%/yr (capped)
7575th percentile
← Less favorableMedianMore favorable →

What a deal looks like here

A market-level buy-box for San Bernardino, built from this market's own numbers: the investor-entry price, its rent, and local carrying costs. An illustrative scenario, not a listing.

Target buy price
$406,817
Expected rent
$2,013 /mo
Rent-to-price
0.49%
Cap rate
3.4%
Cash-on-cash
-9.1% at 25% dn
DSCR
0.58

At 25% down and 7%, this representative scenario runs negative (about −$862/mo); it reaches cash-flow break-even around 57% down.

Buy target = Zillow Bottom-Tier ZHVI (5th–35th percentile) $406,817; typical home value $495,055. Rent = Zillow ZORI typical asking rent. Assumptions: 25% down, 7% / 30-yr, 5% vacancy, 8% management, 5% maintenance, 5% capex, 0.5% insurance, 0.63% property tax. Illustrative market-level scenario: not a listing, appraisal, recommendation, or underwriting decision. As of 2026-07-10.

Market Negotiation Leverage

Balanced (51st percentile among 2,222 cities with Redfin coverage)

Equal-weight composite of three Redfin signals’ national percentiles (days on market 47, months of supply 3.0, sale-to-list 100.6%), direction-adjusted so a higher percentile always means more room for a buyer to negotiate. This is a cross-sectional snapshot against every other tracked city today, not a seasonal or historical baseline for this specific city (no multi-year time series is committed for this data). Not a prediction of what any specific seller will accept. Source: Redfin Data Center. See how this is calculated.

Measured market data

Measured observations for San Bernardino, shown as context beside the market score (none of it feeds the score), and the model weights are unchanged. These are different measurements from the Census figures in the factor table: the ACS median value is what owners report in a 5-year survey, while ZHVI is a monthly index of typical value; ACS median gross rent is what sitting tenants pay including utilities, while ZORI indexes asking rent on newly listed units. Neither corrects the other. Monthly series, revised in recent months, observed 2026-07, not live.

Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI, mid tier)$495,055
ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct)$406,817
ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct)$595,633
ZHVI, single-family only$501,443
Zillow asking-rent index (ZORI)$2,013/mo
Measured gross yield (ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI)4.88%
Market heat index66
Median days to pending20
Share of listings with a price cut17.0%
Median sale-to-list ratio100.4%
For-sale inventory392
New listings137
Median list price$523,917
Median sale price$500,000
Measured 3-yr value growth3.13%/yr
Measured 5-yr value growth5.37%/yr
Measured 3-yr rent growth3.10%/yr
Price–rent divergence (value − rent growth)0.03%/yr
ZHVI, 1-bedroom$263,943
ZHVI, 2-bedroom$400,786
ZHVI, 3-bedroom$497,700
ZHVI, 4-bedroom$570,654
ZHVI, 5-bedroom$697,591

Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data, observation month 2026-07. Zillow is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Compounding Estates.

Typical home value $495,055 Median rent $2,013/mo Population 221,774 Region Pacific

Price & rent history

Home value $96,219 → $495,055 (2000-01–2026-07) · Asking rent $913 → $2,013 (2015-01–2026-07)

Source: Zillow ZHVI (home value) and ZORI (asking rent) - monthly resolution for the last ~10 years (since 2016-08), quarterly before that. Home value uses the left axis, rent the right; toggle either series, change the range, hover to read any point. Gaps in the source series are left as gaps - never interpolated.

ZIP markets in San Bernardino

15 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) officially overlap San Bernardino by land area · 12 data-eligible for subscores. Overlap is Census land-area share, not a population or address share. Each ZIP Code's overall Rental Investor ZIP Score, grade and canonical national rank are shown below (the two component signals, affordability and rental market, are separate percentiles). There is no city-scoped ZIP rank: city overlap isn't a ranking universe, so only the national rank is shown. These ZIP rankings sit in the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, San Bernardino's city ranking. Vintage: the Key metric column below is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a full survey release newer than the ACS 2019–2023 figures used above for San Bernardino itself, so the same measure can legitimately show a different number at the city and ZIP level.

ZIP CodeOverallgrade · natl rankTier · overlapAffordabilitysignal · natl rankRental marketsignal · natl rankKey metric
92369San Bernardino LimitedPrimary
92401San Bernardino D 41#12,757 nat RankedPrimary 35#15,667 of 20,132 · bottom 22% 86#1 of 20,132 · top 1% 3.7%Survey yield
92405San Bernardino B 59#4,006 nat RankedPrimary 55#7,274 of 20,132 · top 36% 80#221 of 20,132 · top 1% 4.3%Survey yield
92415San Bernardino LimitedPrimary
92411San Bernardino B 61#3,235 nat RankedPrimary 63#4,769 of 20,132 · top 24% 78#479 of 20,132 · top 2% 4.8%Survey yield
92408San Bernardino B 56#5,223 nat RankedPrimary 46#11,483 of 20,132 · bottom 43% 82#98 of 20,132 · top 1% 4.0%Survey yield
92404San Bernardino B 58#4,401 nat RankedPrimary 48#10,299 of 20,132 · bottom 49% 67#2,725 of 20,132 · top 14% 4.2%Survey yield
92410San Bernardino B 63#2,195 nat RankedPrimary 65#4,092 of 20,132 · top 20% 77#662 of 20,132 · top 3% 5.4%Survey yield
92407San Bernardino A 65#1,688 nat RankedPrimary 47#11,061 of 20,132 · bottom 45% 70#1,912 of 20,132 · top 9% 4.4%Survey yield
92385Lake Arrowhead Profile22% overlap $561kMedian value
92346Highland B 56#5,417 nat Ranked21% overlap 44#12,188 of 20,132 · bottom 39% 70#2,051 of 20,132 · top 10% 4.2%Survey yield
92376Rialto B 63#2,231 nat Ranked6.9% overlap 54#7,845 of 20,132 · top 39% 72#1,418 of 20,132 · top 7% 4.5%Survey yield
View all 15 ZIP markets in San Bernardino →

The honest read

San Bernardino scores 54/100 overall (grade B): 36 for Cash Flow, 71 for Growth, and 65 for Stability, each a 0–100 score built from the factors in that category. The scenario above shows what a representative investor-entry purchase pencils out to at today's rates. Everything we can measure is in the table below, with its source.

Every factor, shown

The Overall score blends three category scores built from thirteen measured factors: Cash Flow (35%), Growth (35%), and Stability (30%). The table shows every factor; the tag on each percentile marks which category a scored factor feeds. Untagged factors are shown for context but not scored. Every value carries its source and as-of date. How the score works.

FactorValueNational percentileSource · as-ofWhat it means
Expense-adjusted yield2.6%49th percentile · Cash FlowZillow ZORI/ZHVI · 2026-07-31Annual rent divided by price, net of a modeled vacancy, tax, capex, and management allowance: the core of the Cash Flow category and what the score is actually computed from. The unadjusted gross yield is shown elsewhere on this page.
Price to income7.7x13th percentile · Cash FlowZillow + ACS income · 2026-07-31Home price over local median income. Lower is cheaper relative to what people earn. Part of the Cash Flow category.
Population growth0.4%/yr47th percentile · GrowthCensus PEP · Census PEP 2020→2024 (vintage 2024) + Census PEP 2014→2024 (vintages 2019+2024)Census population trend for the place, capped at 4.5%/yr before scoring (diminishing returns above that rate): the heaviest factor in the Growth category.
Job growth1.6%/yr75th percentile · GrowthBLS LAUS (county) · BLS LAUS county annual 2019→2023 (pre-COVID anchor) + BLS LAUS county annual 2013→2023County employment trend, capped at 4.0%/yr before scoring (diminishing returns above that rate). A Growth-category factor.
Income growth8.7%/yr95th percentile · GrowthCensus ACS · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Local median-income trend. A Growth-category factor.
Rent growth5.6%/yr91st percentile · GrowthZillow ZORI · 3yr + 10yr to 2026-07-31A 40/60 blend of 3-year and 10-year rent trend (the model's own weighting). A Growth-category factor.
Home-value growth6.2%/yr87th percentile · GrowthZillow ZHVI · 3yr + 10yr to 2026-07-31A 40/60 blend of 3-year and 10-year price trend (the model's own weighting). A small Growth-category factor.
Unemployment4.6%14th percentile · StabilityBLS LAUS (county) · BLS LAUS county annual 2023County unemployment rate. Lower is steadier, a Stability-category factor.
Rental vacancy2.0%89th percentile · StabilityCensus ACS B25004 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Share of rentals empty. Lower means more pricing power. A Stability-category factor.
Property tax rate0.6%84th percentile · StabilityCensus ACS B25103/B25077 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Median tax over median value. A direct drag on cash flow, scored in the Stability category as carrying-cost burden.
Months of supply3.0 mo43rd percentile · StabilityRedfin Data Center · 2026-05-01Listings over sales pace. Under about 4 is a seller market, over 6 a buyer market. A Stability-category factor.
Days on market47 days31st percentileRedfin Data Center · 2026-05-01How fast homes sell. Lower means more liquidity and an easier exit. Shown for context, not scored.
Sale-to-list ratio100.6%74th percentileRedfin Data Center · 2026-05-01Sale price over asking. Above 100% means homes clear over ask. Shown for context, not scored.
Net domestic migration-2.8/1k44th percentileCensus PEP (county) · PEP vintage 2024Net people moving in or out of the county, per 1,000 residents. Shown for context, not scored.
Building permits12.8/1k45th percentileCensus BPS (county) · BPS 2023New-construction permits per 1,000 homes. More means more supply coming. Shown for context, not scored.
Rent burden38%5th percentileCensus ACS B25071 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Median rent as a share of income. Higher means less headroom for increases. Shown for context, not scored.
Median year built197336th percentileCensus ACS B25035 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Age of the housing stock. Older stock carries more capex. Shown for context, not scored.
Max drawdown63%3rd percentileZillow ZHVI · 2026-07-31Worst peak-to-trough home-value decline on record. Shown for context, not scored.
Violent crimenot reported-FBI CDENo agency reported this place to the FBI. We never impute a crime number; where it is missing, the Stability category renormalizes over its remaining factors.

Related cities

Nearby in the California rankings · all California cities

Similar overall grade, elsewhere in the country

Compare San Bernardino head-to-head

Side by side, the three category scores plus every measured column with sources - the same shown math as this page.

Underwrite a San Bernardino deal

For learning, not advice. A market screen from public data - not a forecast, not underwriting, not a recommendation to buy anywhere.