Best Beach Neighborhoods for Long-Term Rentals

This guide is for owners of homes, condos and small buildings near the coast in San Diego County who are weighing a long-term lease against other uses. It compares seven beach areas on the numbers you can check: typical asking rent and home value from Zillow's August 2026 data, the short-term rental (STR) rules that apply at each address, and the local tenant rules a long-term landlord has to follow.

The short version, as of September 2026: in most of these areas, a new whole-home short-term rental is either capped, closed or zoned out, which leaves a long-term lease as the main option at many addresses. Each entry below says what applies where.

At a glance

Sources: Zillow Research ZORI and ZHVI files (August 2026); City of San Diego Short-Term Residential Occupancy page (counts as of 11 Sep 2026); City of Imperial Beach; Coronado Municipal Code. ZIP 92109 covers both Pacific Beach and Mission Beach, so the rent figure is shared.

1. Pacific Beach

Pacific Beach sits in ZIP 92109, where Zillow's typical asking rent was $3,378 in August 2026, up 3.2% from a year earlier. The Pacific Beach neighborhood home value (ZHVI) was $1,347,456. A rough rent-to-price comparison for the whole ZIP (a year of asking rent divided by typical value) comes to about 2.8%. That figure ignores taxes, insurance, HOA dues, vacancy and repairs, so treat it only as a sense of scale. A whole-home STR over 20 days a year needs a City of San Diego Tier 3 license, and 799 of those were left citywide as of 11 September 2026. There is no residential permit parking district in Pacific Beach, which is worth stating in a listing so applicants know what to expect. See our Pacific Beach property management page.

Worth knowing: Tier 3 licensees must show at least 90 days of use a year, and guest stays have a two-night minimum, per the city.

2. Mission Beach

Mission Beach shares ZIP 92109's $3,378 asking rent, but the neighborhood's typical home value was higher, $1,776,636 in August 2026. For short-term rentals it is a separate world: whole-home STRs here need a Tier 4 license, capped at 30% of housing in the Mission Beach Community Planning Area. As of 11 September 2026, all 1,099 Tier 4 licenses were issued and 0 remained. New applicants go on a waitlist ordered by random lottery; the last application window the city lists ran 1 July to 15 August 2025. For an owner without a Tier 4 license, the city's other options are home-sharing with the host living on site (Tier 2), renting 20 days or less a year (Tier 1), or a long-term lease. Like Pacific Beach, Mission Beach has no residential permit parking district. More on our Mission Beach property management page.

Worth knowing: because the Tier 4 cap is full, buying a Mission Beach home does not bring an STR license with it by default. Check the license status of any property before you price it as a vacation rental.

3. Ocean Beach

ZIP 92107 (Ocean Beach) had a typical asking rent of $2,820 in August 2026, up 2.7%, against a typical home value of $1,478,518. The Ocean Beach neighborhood value was $1,266,750. Whole-home STRs fall under the citywide Tier 3 cap, with 799 left as of 11 September 2026. Ocean Beach also has Dog Beach at the foot of Voltaire Street, off-leash 24 hours on the city's list, which matters if you accept pets. See Ocean Beach property management.

Worth knowing: Ocean Beach rents sat below Pacific Beach and La Jolla in August 2026, while home values were close to the 92109 figure, so run your own numbers on price.

4. La Jolla

ZIP 92037 (La Jolla) had a typical asking rent of $3,992 in August 2026, up 4.9%, and a typical home value of $2,336,101 (the La Jolla neighborhood figure was $2,414,653). Whole-home STRs fall under the citywide Tier 3 cap. La Jolla addresses are inside the City of San Diego, so the city's tenant protection ordinance applies to long-term leases there. See La Jolla property management.

Worth knowing: La Jolla rents rose faster than Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach over the 12 months to August 2026, per Zillow.

5. Point Loma

ZIP 92106 (Point Loma) had a typical asking rent of $2,833 in August 2026, up 4.4%, with a typical home value of $1,806,460. Within it, Zillow's neighborhood values were $1,135,994 for Point Loma Heights and $1,612,959 for Loma Portal. Whole-home STRs fall under the citywide Tier 3 cap. See Point Loma property management.

Worth knowing: neighborhood values inside 92106 ranged from about $1.14 million (Point Loma Heights) to about $1.61 million (Loma Portal) in August 2026, so price your unit against close comparables rather than the ZIP figure.

6. Coronado

Coronado (92118) had the highest numbers in this set in August 2026: a typical asking rent of $5,550, up 6.0% from a year earlier, and a typical home value of $2,563,759. Coronado's municipal code restricts rentals under 26 consecutive days; confirm current rules with the City. That leaves long-term and monthly-plus leases as the main options for residential property. See Coronado property management and our ranked list of property management companies in Coronado.

Worth knowing: Coronado is its own city, so the City of San Diego's tenant ordinance does not apply there. State law (AB 1482) still does for covered units.

7. Imperial Beach

Imperial Beach (91932) had a typical asking rent of $2,778 in August 2026, the only beach ZIP in this set where asking rent fell (-0.5% over 12 months). Its typical home value was $835,561, far below the other six. The city treats anyone staying 30 consecutive days or less as transient, charges a 14% transient occupancy tax since 1 January 2023, and limits short-term rentals to commercial and mixed-use zones; confirm the current zone list with the City. Imperial Beach also has its own just-cause ordinance, effective 22 March 2025 and set to sunset 1 January 2030, with one month's rent in relocation for most no-fault terminations (more for substantial remodels in complexes of 15 or more units). See Imperial Beach property management.

Worth knowing: a lower purchase price and a softer rent trend point in opposite directions, so compare the whole budget, not rent alone.

Rules every long-term beach landlord should know

• City of San Diego tenant protections (Residential Tenant Protections Ordinance, SDMC §§ 98.0701 to 98.0709), in effect since 24 June 2023, cover Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, La Jolla and Point Loma. Just-cause protection starts on day one of the tenancy, and a no-fault termination requires relocation assistance of two months' rent (or a two-month rent waiver), paid within 15 days of the notice (more in some cases the ordinance defines).
• State rent cap (AB 1482). For San Diego, the maximum increase for covered units effective 1 August 2026 through 31 July 2027 is 8.2%, per the Southern California Rental Housing Association.
• City trash fee. City of San Diego properties that get city trash collection (mostly single-family homes, plus buildings with four or fewer units on a lot) pay a Measure B (2022) fee of $523.20 a year for FY2026 and FY2027, billed to the owner on the county property tax bill.
• Security deposits. Under AB 12 (Civil Code § 1950.5(c)), deposits for tenancies starting on or after 1 July 2024 are capped at one month's rent, with a two-month exception for certain small landlords that does not apply to service members.

This is general information, not legal advice.

For a long-term lease on a coastal property, our beachfront property page covers how we handle leasing and upkeep near the water.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still get a short-term rental license in Mission Beach?

Not right away. As of 11 September 2026, all 1,099 Tier 4 licenses for Mission Beach whole-home rentals were issued, with 0 remaining. New applicants join a lottery-ordered waitlist; the last window the city lists ran 1 July to 15 August 2025.

How many whole-home short-term rental licenses are left in the rest of San Diego?

The City of San Diego's Tier 3 cap (1% of housing units outside Mission Beach) had 799 licenses remaining as of 11 September 2026, with 4,862 issued. Tier 3 and Tier 4 licensees must show at least 90 days of use a year.

Can I rent my Coronado home by the week?

Coronado's municipal code restricts rentals under 26 consecutive days; confirm current rules with the City before advertising any shorter stay.

Does Imperial Beach have its own tenant rules?

Yes. Imperial Beach adopted its own just-cause ordinance, effective 22 March 2025 and set to sunset 1 January 2030. Most no-fault terminations require one month's rent in relocation assistance, with more for substantial remodels in complexes of 15 or more units.

If you own a beach-area rental and want help leasing or managing it, McKee Properties has been headquartered in Coronado since 1989 and handles residential leasing and management. Start with our beachfront property page or contact us.