- The average roommate rent in San Diego hit a record high of $1,324 per month in Q1 2026.
- This is changing household dynamics: the proportion of seniors over 65 looking for roommates and rooms for rent has increased 54% in five years, the biggest rise of any age group.
- 18-24 year olds made up 36% of the San Diego roommate market in 2020; five years later this had dropped to 28%, as more young people were priced out of the market.
Sky-high rent in San Diego is transforming roommate households, according to the latest rental index data from roommate site SpareRoom, which uniquely tracks roommate rents in shared households at the sharp end of America's housing affordability crisis.
In the first quarter of 2026, the average roommate rent hit a new high of $1,324 per month, a 2.3% increase on the previous year. Due to unprecedented demand after the pandemic, the average rent rose sharply, hitting $1,277 in Q3 2022. As shown in the table below, there have been no significant falls since.
A knock-on effect of sustained high rent is that the typical San Diego roommate isn't necessarily a young professional or graduate anymore. The share of younger roommates under 35 has declined as the proportion of older roommates has increased.
In fact, the biggest increase of any age group has been over 65s. While seniors still only represent 5.5% of the roommate market, this cohort has risen by 54% in five years.
Roommates aged 18-24 years made up over a third (36%) of the roommate market in 2020, but five years later this had dropped to 28%, as more young people were priced out of the San Diego rental market.
| Age group | % of users in 2025 | % of users in 2020 | 5-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 27.9 | 36.3 | -23% |
| 25-34 | 29.5 | 33.1 | -11% |
| 35-44 | 17.0 | 13.0 | 31% |
| 45-54 | 11.2 | 7.8 | 44% |
| 55-64 | 8.9 | 6.2 | 43% |
| 65+ | 5.5 | 3.6 | 54% |
Matt Hutchinson, director of roommate site SpareRoom, comments: “Living with roommates offers huge savings compared to renting solo, but even those who share aren't immune to rent rises. It's especially worrying when you consider that San Diegans chasing affordability are essentially out of options when the cheapest way to rent is out of reach. You can see the impact of that lack of affordability in roommate populations. More seniors are sharing now than five years ago, and under 35s are finding it especially challenging to access the market at all.”