Rents in Mountain View—How Much Do You Pay?

Rent costs in Mountain View vary wildly between neighborhoods.

Now you can see just how pricey it is, and how those costs compare neighborhood-by-neighborhood. 

A new data-based website, Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks uses U.S. census information compiled from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey (ACS) to show median household income and monthly rents by census tract.

At the time, renters at or near Whisman Station paid the highest monthly rent at $1,790. This compared to the second highest rents in the city—in the downtown neighborhoods around Castro Street. There, the average rent was $1,698 a month.

This compares to rents in 2013 in the new Prometheus Madera apartment building on Evelyn Avenue and Minton Lane where a one bedroom rents for between $2,800 and $3,000.

South of El Camino Real, where most Mountain View residents own their homes, the ACS showed rents appear to be cheaper ranging from $1,106-$1,250 a month.

Are you surprised by any of the local data? Tell us in the comments section.

And don't expect it to get any cheaper to live here. An MSN Real Estate article published this spring named the 10 cities where rents will rise most this year. Nearby San Jose and San Francisco were the only California cities to make the list.

In San Jose, the effective rent at end of 2012 was $1,616, a 5.4 percent increase from 2011. The forecasted effective rent growth in 2013 is 5.3 percent, according to MSN Real Estate.

San Francisco is an even tougher rental market. The effective rent at end of 2012 was $1,970, a 5.7 percent increase from the year prior, and the forecasted effective rent growth in 2013 is 5.2 percent.

The average rent in California is $1,185 a month according to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey. Statewide middle rental-range is $996.00 to $1,193.00.

To see the data mapped out census tract by census tract, visit the Rich Block, Poor Blocks website.