Downtown Berkeley

Berkeley, CA

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Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA

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A colorful cultural hub in one of the Bay Area’s top cities

Urban Artistic Great Location University Trendy Dining Entertainment

Located .6 miles from University of California Berkley, Downtown Berkeley is the heart of the city. This dazzling city center is a vibrant hub for the arts, dining, shopping, business, and entertainment scenes. When searching for rentals in Downtown Berkeley, you’ll find a variety of rental options from affordable studios and quirky cottages to chic high-rise apartments with views of the city. Similar to other urban centers, Downtown Berkley houses movie theaters, office buildings, music stores, entertainment venues, coffee shops, a hospital, urban parks, and more.

In the center of town, you’ll find Berkeley’s renowned arts district, which is home to Roda Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and the UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall. Foodies fall in love with this district’s diverse collection of eateries serving everything from boba tea to falafel to pizza. Locals flock to Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park for festivals, a year-round farmers market, and casual afternoon strolls. Popular amongst college students, faculty, artists, professionals, and everything in between, Downtown Berkeley truly embodies the diverse, eclectic culture the city is known for.

Rent Trends

As of March 2025, the average apartment rent in Downtown Berkeley is $2,255 for a studio, $2,685 for one bedroom, $3,607 for two bedrooms, and $5,144 for three bedrooms. Apartment rent in Downtown Berkeley has increased by 2.8% in the past year.

  • Studio

  • 418 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $2,255/month

    Average Rent

  • 1 BR

  • 572 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $2,685/month

    Average Rent

  • 2 BR

  • 795 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $3,607/month

    Average Rent

  • 3 BR

  • 983 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $5,144/month

    Average Rent

Transportation

97

Walker's Paradise

out of 100 WalkScore® Rating

Lace up your walking shoes because this area is considered a walker’s paradise.

71

Excellent Transit

out of 100 TransitScore® Rating

You’ll have excellent transit living in this area, with several nearby transit stops.

98

Biker's Paradise

out of 100 BikeScore® Rating

Do you prefer to get around on two wheels? You’ll love living in this neighborhood, which is considered a biker’s paradise.

Points of Interest

Parks and Recreation

  • Habitot Children's Museum
  • Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
  • UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
  • Essig Museum of Entomology
  • University and Jepson Herbaria

Airports

  • Metro Oakland International
  • San Francisco International

Top Apartments in Downtown Berkeley

Houses for Rent in Downtown Berkeley

Property Management Companies

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Methodology

† Our analysis of utilities, groceries, transportation, healthcare, home prices, and other goods and services is sourced from the Cost of Living Index, a respected benchmark published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) that provides a thorough overview of living expenses across different regions.

Rent data is provided by CoStar Group’s Market Trend reports. As the industry leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, CoStar conducts extensive research to produce and maintain a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. We combine this data with public record to provide the most up-to-date rental information available.

Consumer goods, services, and home prices are sourced from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). The data on this page is updated quarterly. It was last published in February 2025.