Folsom’s typical rent pushes past $2,669, a Zillow record for the suburb

Folsom’s typical asking rent hit $2,669 a month in May, the highest figure Zillow has tracked for the city, according to the latest reading of the Zillow Observed Rent Index. The new peak caps a year of steady, if unspectacular, rent growth, with prices rising $64 a month compared with June 2025, when the typical rent stood at $2,605.

A new high, but a moderate climb

The 2.5% year-over-year increase puts Folsom’s rent trajectory well below the double-digit surges seen during the pandemic-era rental boom. While the May figure marks a fresh record in the ZORI series, the pace of gains over the past 12 months has been gradual — averaging just over $5 in additional monthly rent each month since last June.

For renters, that means a household renewing a lease at the typical Folsom rate is paying about $768 more over the course of a year than a household that signed at the prior year’s median. For landlords, the data points to a market that continues to support price increases, but at a slower clip than many parts of the Sacramento region saw earlier in the decade.

Affordability remains within reach for the typical household

By conventional affordability standards, Folsom’s rental market remains manageable for the city’s median earners. With a median household income of $139,804, according to the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, the typical Folsom household would spend roughly 22.9% of gross income on the current median rent. That keeps the typical renter well below the 30% threshold federal housing guidelines use to define rent-burdened households.

That citywide ratio, however, masks meaningful variation. Renting households tend to earn less than owning households, so the share of income going to rent is generally higher for actual renters than the citywide median income calculation suggests. Lower-income renters in Folsom can still face cost pressures even as the headline affordability picture looks comfortable.

Rent versus buy: the gap remains wide

The new rent high comes as the cost of buying in Folsom continues to dwarf the cost of renting on a sticker-price basis. The median sale price in Folsom stood at $742,556, according to Redfin, while the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.44% in May 2026 — up from 6.33% in April but down from 6.82% a year earlier. With borrowing costs still well above pre-pandemic norms, the financial bar to transition from renting to owning in Folsom remains high relative to monthly rent levels.

Nationally, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index was modestly lower in March 2026 than a year earlier, suggesting the broader for-sale market has cooled even as Folsom rents have ticked to a new high.

What it means for the months ahead

May’s reading establishes a new baseline for Folsom’s rental market. The combination of a fresh ZORI high and a moderate 2.5% annual gain suggests a market that is firming rather than accelerating. For renters weighing a move within the city, the data indicates that waiting for a meaningful pullback in asking rents has not paid off over the past year — though the pace of increases has slowed considerably from the rapid run-ups earlier in the decade.

Rental figures are sourced from the Zillow Observed Rent Index, home price data from Redfin, income data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, and mortgage rate data from the Federal Reserve.