This is the first in an ongoing series covering every city in Orange County — two cities at a time, so owners can see how their specific submarket compares to the county as a whole. We’re kicking it off with Aliso Viejo and Anaheim: two cities in very different parts of the rent spectrum, for very different reasons.
Aliso Viejo: a smaller, higher-end market
Aliso Viejo’s rents have kept climbing through the year. Apartment List’s September 2026 report puts the citywide median at $3,127 — up 5.1% year-over-year — with one-bedrooms averaging around $2,808 and two-bedrooms closer to $3,763. That’s up from the roughly $3,275 average RentCafe reported earlier this year, suggesting the market has continued tightening rather than leveling off. Citywide vacancy data specific to this month wasn’t available in this check, but the underlying dynamics — a smaller, planned community with limited new apartment supply — still hold and continue to support the tighter pricing.
For owners, that combination — steady rent growth, low vacancy, limited new supply — has generally kept Aliso Viejo a landlord-favorable market, though it’s also a market where pricing precisely matters more: with fewer total rentals than a larger city, a unit priced even slightly off-market can sit noticeably longer relative to the size of the rental pool.
Anaheim: a larger, more moderate market
Anaheim tells a different story, and one that’s held steady through September: average rent remains close to $2,503 per month according to Zillow’s rental market data (RentCafe puts it slightly lower, around $2,466), with the largest share of listings — still about 39% — falling between $2,001 and $2,500. Rent growth has stayed essentially flat year-over-year. According to RealPage’s 2026 analytics, Anaheim’s metro apartment market has historically run one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country, though occupancy softened somewhat through late 2025 before recovering roughly 30 basis points between April and June 2026. New supply is a factor to watch here too — the Anaheim metro is expected to add around 4,800 new apartment units in 2026, which tends to put some downward pressure on rent growth and give renters more options.
For owners, Anaheim represents a larger, more liquid rental market with more comparable properties to benchmark against — generally easier to price correctly, but also more exposed to the effect of new supply coming online nearby.
What this means if you own in either market
Aliso Viejo rewards precision — a smaller pool of comparable rentals means pricing needs to be dialed in, but low vacancy and limited new supply generally work in an owner’s favor. Anaheim rewards owners who are tracking new supply closely, since a wave of new units nearby can shift the local balance of negotiating power even while citywide averages look stable.
Either way, the same principle from our national-vs-local vacancy post applies here too: county-wide or citywide averages are a starting point, not a pricing strategy. What matters is the trend in your specific neighborhood and property type.
Own a rental in Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, or elsewhere in Orange County and want to know how your property compares to current market data? Reach out to Smart One Property Management.
Sources: Apartment List, September 2026 Aliso Viejo Rent Report; RentCafe, Average Rent in Aliso Viejo, CA (2026); Zillow Rental Manager, Average Rental Price in Anaheim, CA; RealPage Analytics, Anaheim’s Apartment Market Stable in 2026.