68fit
#1Mission
$2K median rent
Valencia corridor, Mission murals, and a density that never sleeps. The official analysis neighborhood is just Mission — search the street names.
NightlifeWalk 86Safety 11
San Francisco/Guides
San Francisco neighborhoods with median rent under $2,500
Every official San Francisco analysis neighborhoods whose ACS median rent still sits at or under $2,500. Then we rank what’s left. A median is not this week’s one-bedroom.
First we drop every official analysis neighborhood whose ACS median rent is over $2,500. Then we rank what is left like the walkable list. The cut is five years of survey mixed across unit sizes — not the one-bedroom in the window.
6 of 20
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · SFPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
The ranking
Ten official areas. Same order for every reader. Fit is a San Francisco number only.
| # | Neighborhood | Fit | Rent | Schools | Safety | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mission | 68 | $2,494 | 27 | 11 | 86 |
| 2 | Nob Hill | 64 | $2,106 | 23 | 37 | 73 |
| 3 | Outer Richmond | 53 | $2,371 | 67 | 89 | 26 |
| 4 | North Beach | 43 | $2,356 | 33 | 42 | 23 |
| 5 | Western Addition | 37 | $2,077 | 33 | 32 | 15 |
| 6 | South of Market | 33 | $2,100 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
Stuck between these two? Mission vs Nob Hill
64fit
#2Nob Hill
$2K median rent
Cable cars, hotel bars, and a ridge between Chinatown and Pac Heights. Dense without SoMa's warehouse scale.
NightlifeWalk 73Safety 37
Stuck between these two? Nob Hill vs Outer Richmond
53fit
#3Outer Richmond
$2K median rent
The last grid before the Pacific. Cheaper than Inner Richmond, foggier, and a bus ride from everywhere else.
Family streetsWaterfrontWalk 26Safety 89
Stuck between these two? Outer Richmond vs North Beach
43fit
#4North Beach
$2K median rent
Caffe Trieste, Columbus Avenue, and Telegraph Hill stairs. Nightlife with a church bell still in earshot.
NightlifeWaterfrontWalk 23Safety 42
Stuck between these two? North Beach vs Western Addition
37fit
#5Western Addition
$2K median rent
Alamo Square, the Fillmore, and Japantown sit inside this analysis neighborhood. Painted ladies are the postcard; the grid is the product.
Walk 15Safety 32
Stuck between these two? Western Addition vs South of Market
Common questions
Same list, said in questions. The numbers are in the table.
What does this San Francisco ranking actually measure?
Who still has an ACS median rent at or under $2,500, then who walks better among those. It is not a list of apartments you can rent tonight.
Why is Mission #1?
Mission survives the $2,500 ACS cut at $2,494 and then ranks on walk (86 vs 73 in Nob Hill). Nob Hill is $2,106 — still under the line.
How is this different from the walkable list?
Same errand weights as the walkable list, then a hard cut at $2,500 ACS median rent. If the median is over the line, the area never shows up — even if it walks well.
Why isn't Hayes Valley on this list?
Hayes Valley never enters. ACS median rent is $2,636, over the $2,500 line, so the ranking never sees it. That line is a survey median, not this week’s asking rent.
Can I compare a San Francisco score to another city?
No. Hyde Park in Austin is not Hyde Park in Chicago. A 72 here is a rank inside this city’s official analysis neighborhoods, not a grade you can carry across a state line.
What does rent mean on this list?
ACS median gross rent among these 6 areas runs $2,077 to $2,494. Five-year survey, studios through large apartments mixed together — not a listing you can message tonight.
Everyone sees this order so the list is arguable. Set your own weights · Method.