The typical rent in El Dorado Hills reached $2,920 in May, the highest level Zillow has recorded for the city since it began tracking the market. The new peak, reported in the latest release of the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), continues a steady climb that has played out over the past year and pushes the suburb further above the rent levels seen across most of the Sacramento metro.
A new ceiling for asking rents
May’s $2,920 figure compares with $2,818 in June 2025, a year-over-year increase of $102, or 3.6%, according to Zillow. The pace of growth is modest in absolute terms but notable for clearing a threshold the local rental market had not previously reached. El Dorado Hills rents have trended upward through the past several monthly readings, and the May figure marks the latest step in that progression rather than a sudden jump.
The 3.6% annual gain puts El Dorado Hills roughly in line with broader rent growth patterns nationally, though it stands in contrast to flatter readings seen in some neighboring Sacramento-area communities. For renters signing new leases or renewing this summer, the practical impact is an additional $1,224 over the course of a 12-month lease compared with what the same typical unit would have cost a year earlier.
Affordability remains favorable on paper
Despite the record rent level, El Dorado Hills remains one of the more affordable rental markets in the region when measured against local incomes. Census ACS data for 2024 puts the median household income in the city at $165,349. At the current typical rent, a household earning the median would spend about 21.2% of gross income on rent — well below the 30% threshold used to define a rent-burdened household.
That cushion is largely a function of household income rather than low rents; the typical El Dorado Hills rent is meaningfully higher than the regional norm. Lower-income renters in the city, including those earning closer to entry-level wages, would face a substantially higher rent-to-income ratio than the citywide median suggests.
Rent versus buy
For households weighing whether to rent or buy, the gap between monthly rent levels and El Dorado Hills home prices remains wide. Redfin reports a median sale price of $866,232 in the city, a figure that places ownership well out of reach for many households that can comfortably afford the typical rent. National mortgage rates remain elevated as well: the 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.44% in May 2026, up from 6.33% in April but down from 6.82% in May 2025, according to Freddie Mac data published by the Federal Reserve. The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index was slightly lower in March 2026 than a year earlier, suggesting some softening in for-sale values nationally even as rents in markets like El Dorado Hills continue to set new highs.
What it means this month
For renters, the May data confirms that asking rents in El Dorado Hills are still drifting upward rather than easing, with the typical unit now $102 more per month than a year ago. For landlords, the new high reinforces the city’s position as one of the more expensive rental submarkets in the Sacramento region. And for households on the fence between renting and buying, the still-large gap between monthly rent and the cost of acquiring a median-priced home continues to define the local trade-off — even after this latest move higher in rents.