Rent may be dropping in Los Angeles County — but the difference still doesn’t cut it for most recent college grads.

According to a new report by Realtor.com, LA County rents hit a record four-year low in the second quarter of 2026, with the overall median asking rent dropping to $2,603 — a decrease of $91, which equates to 3.4%, from the previous year, having not been so low since 2021.

The realty site also reported an area studio’s median asking rent as $2,004, units with zero to two bedrooms at $2,255 (a 3.6% drop year over year), and $3,441 for larger units with larger three-plus bedroom units (a 3.0% drop).

With the shifting habits of the local renting market, which was undoubtedly affected by the height of COVID-19, having finally started to settle since its peak in 2022 — plus additional housing options provided by new multi-family development and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) construction — some renters can finally have some financial weight taken off their shoulders.

But the report also found that with what most recent LA grads are earning, they may not be part of this happy group (neither are New York grads, by the way — even a computer science entry level worker there is projected to spend a whopping 38.2% of their income on a small studio, per another Realtor.com report).

“Los Angeles renters are finally seeing meaningful relief after several years of exceptionally high rents, but lower asking rents don’t necessarily make housing affordable for recent graduates,” clarified Jiayi Xu, economist at Realtor.com. “Even with recent declines, many new graduates will still spend around or more than the recommended 30% of their income on rent. While conditions are improving, entry-level workers in many fields continue to face difficult housing tradeoffs.”

Though the rent market is currently generally in favor of new graduates on a nationwide scale — with the average median asking rent for a studio apartment across 50 of the country’s largest cities projected to consume only 20.9% of a Computer Science graduate’s projected national average starting salary, 24.8% of a Business graduate’s salary, 25.8% of a Social Science graduate’s salary and 26.8% of a Communications graduate’s salary, LA grads still have to shell out more than the generally recommended 30% of their income on rent.

While local computer-science grads are in the clear, as they’re currently projected to be spending 25.7% of their on-average $94,000 starting salary on rent, business grads are shelling out 30.4% of their average $79,000 salary, while social science grads ring in at forking over 31.6% of their $76,000 salary. Communications grads are projected to be in the worst spot, handing over an eye-watering 38.2% of their $73,000 earnings towards having a place to stay.

This data was based on Class of 2026 salary projections from the National Association of Colleges and Employers and was adjusted with a 15% geographic premium to reflect Los Angeles wage levels.

Still, Xu advised new graduates who want to put down roots in LA not to give up hope just yet.

“The increase in rental supply is giving Los Angeles renters more options, especially those looking for smaller, entry-level units,” Xu added. “For recent graduates entering the market, that added supply can create more opportunities to find housing at a time when affordability remains a major consideration.”