Chinatown Housing Data

Ranks are among the 38 San Francisco neighborhoods with at least 500 homes. Census figures are ACS 2020-2024; the last four cards are Zillow market data for September 2026.

Homeownership Rate in Chinatown

Of 6,258 occupied homes in Chinatown, 5,684 are rented and 574 are owner-occupied. That renter share of 90.8% is the 5th highest of 38 neighborhoods, 29.0 points above the citywide figure of 61.8%. Households average 1.91 people, 1.72 in owned homes and 1.93 in rentals.

See every neighborhood ranked by renter share or by homeownership rate.

Owners and Renters by Age

1.8% of households in Chinatown headed by someone under 35 own their home, the 4th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 12.0 points below the citywide figure of 13.8%. The rate is 11.3% for households headed by someone 35 to 64 and 9.1% for those 65 and over.

Of the renter households here, 13.1% are headed by someone under 35, 21.1 points below the citywide figure of 34.2%, and 45.4% by someone 65 or older.

Compare every neighborhood by homeownership under 35, 35 to 64 and 65 and over, or by the share of renters under 35 and 65 and over.

Median Rent in Chinatown

The median gross rent in Chinatown is $887 a month, estimated from the rent distribution of 5,547 renter households. Gross rent includes utilities. That is the lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 64% below the citywide figure of $2,476.

51.6% of renter households here spend 30 percent or more of their income on rent, the Census threshold for being rent-burdened, and 28.4% spend half or more. Citywide, 39.6% of renters are rent-burdened. Compare on the median rent, rent burden and severe rent burden rankings.

Median Home Value in Chinatown

Owners in Chinatown put the median value of their home at $1,461,000, the 19th lowest of 37 neighborhoods and 5% above the citywide figure of $1,394,500. This is the owner's own estimate as reported to the Census, not a sale price, so it runs below market in a rising market.

The homeowner vacancy rate, homes for sale as a share of the owner stock, is 0.0%. See the home value ranking.

Current Home Prices and Asking Rents in Chinatown

Zillow puts the typical home in Chinatown at $1,232,000 as of September 2026, the 15th lowest of 37 neighborhoods and 15% below the citywide figure of $1,441,000. That is up 15.9% over the past year and down 3.2% over five years, and the one-year change is the 19th lowest of 37 neighborhoods. The Census value above is what owners said their home was worth, averaged over the 2020-2024 survey years. Zillow's figure is a model of what homes would sell for now, so the two are expected to differ, and Zillow's is the one to use for today's market.

Zillow publishes asking rents by ZIP code only, not by neighborhood. Weighting the ZIP codes that cover Chinatown (94108 and 94133) by the homes each holds here, the typical asking rent on a new listing is $4,201 a month as of September 2026, the 6th lowest of 31 neighborhoods and 12% below the citywide figure of $4,784. A ZIP code's figure mixes in listings from every neighborhood it covers, so treat this as the going rate for the wider area rather than for Chinatown alone. Asking rent is up 30.7% over the past year. Current tenants here pay a median of $887 including utilities, so a new lease costs about 374% more than what the typical renter already pays. That premium is the highest of 31 neighborhoods. Rent control, long tenancies and subsidized housing all hold paid rents below asking rents, so the widest gaps are where tenants have stayed longest or where much of the stock is below market, and the citywide premium is 93.2%.

Homes in Chinatown sold for a median of $1,199 per square foot from July to September 2026, by Redfin's sales records, the 11th highest of 36 neighborhoods and 9% above the citywide figure of $1,103. That is up 19.5% from the same three months a year earlier and up 2.5% over five years. Price per square foot is the quickest way to compare areas where the homes differ in size, because a small condo and a large house can carry the same price tag.

Rankings: current home values, sale price per square foot, asking rents and the asking rent premium.

Source: Zillow Research, ZHVI and ZORI, September 2026. The home value is the average of Zillow's index for Chinatown, the Zillow area inside this boundary. Asking rent is Zillow's ZIP code index for 94108 and 94133, weighted by the homes in each ZIP. Zillow's areas do not match the Planning Department boundaries exactly. Method on the methodology page.

Price per square foot: Redfin, median sale price per square foot, all residential sales closed July to September 2026. It is Redfin's ZIP code figure for 94108, 94111 and 94133, weighted by the homes in each ZIP, so it blends in parts of neighboring areas that share those ZIP codes.

What Residents Say About Chinatown

55.2% of Chinatown's residents feel safe walking alone in their neighborhood at night, the 10th lowest of 35 neighborhoods and 4.5 points below the citywide figure of 59.7%. During the day the figure is 67.6%. 61.9% give the cleanliness of their streets and sidewalks an A or a B, the 7th highest of 35 neighborhoods. These are the city's own resident surveys for 2023 and 2026, 129 responses from Chinatown.

See how Chinatown compares on the best neighborhoods in San Francisco page, which sets the resident score against rents and sale prices.

Source: San Francisco City Survey, Office of the Controller, 2023 and 2026. Weighted share giving one of the two best answers, combined across both years against the citywide figure each year. With about 130 responses, differences of a few points from nearby neighborhoods are within the noise. Methodology.

Vacancy Rate in Chinatown

1,233 of Chinatown's 7,491 housing units were vacant when surveyed, a vacancy rate of 16.5%, the 9th highest of 38 neighborhoods and 4.3 points above the citywide figure of 12.2%. The Census counts a unit as vacant for any reason, including homes between tenants, second homes and units held off the market, so this is broader than the rental vacancy rate.

The rental vacancy rate, units for rent as a share of the rental stock, is 10.9% against 6.7% citywide. Why the vacant units are empty:

Rankings: overall vacancy, rental vacancy and homeowner vacancy. By reason, across all 38 neighborhoods: for rent, rented but not yet occupied, for sale, sold but not yet occupied, for seasonal or occasional use and other vacant homes.

Housing Types in Chinatown

4.5% of homes in Chinatown are single-family houses, 12.7% are in two-to-four-unit buildings, and 56.5% are in buildings with 20 or more units. The single-family share is the 6th lowest of 38 neighborhoods.

Rankings by single-family share, share in two-to-four-unit buildings and share in large buildings, or by each building type: detached, attached, 2 units, 3-4 units, 5-9 units, 10-19 units, 20-49 units and 50+ units.

Age of Homes in Chinatown

63.2% of Chinatown's housing was built before 1940, the 4th highest of 38 neighborhoods, and 2.3% has been built since 2010. Citywide the pre-1940 share is 45.2%.

Rankings by pre-1940 housing and new construction, or by decade: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020+.

Median Household Income in Chinatown

The median household income in Chinatown is $31,500, the lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 78% below the citywide figure of $140,970. Income and rent together drive the rent burden figure above. See the income ranking.

Chinatown Demographics

About 12,089 people live in Chinatown. Their median age is 54.6, older than San Francisco as a whole at 40.0. 8.4% of residents are under 18 and 34.6% are 65 or older; the share of older residents is the 2nd highest of 38 neighborhoods. These figures come from the American Community Survey for 2020-2024, the same survey as the housing numbers above.

Race and Ethnicity

The largest group in Chinatown is Asian residents, at 80.1% of the population, 45.2 points above the citywide figure of 34.9%. Next are White residents at 10.3% and Hispanic or Latino residents at 4.7%. The Census counts Hispanic or Latino origin separately from race, so every other group here means non-Hispanic.

Education

25.6% of adults 25 and over in Chinatown have at least a bachelor's degree, the lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 34.7 points below the citywide figure of 60.3%. 6.4% hold a graduate or professional degree, and 44.9% did not finish high school.

Commute

Walking leads the commute mix in Chinatown, at 31.6% of workers. 28.5% take public transit, the 2nd highest of 38 neighborhoods, and 9.8% drive alone. Citywide, 31.0% work from home and 18.7% take transit.

Languages and Birthplace

68.5% of people in Chinatown were born outside the United States, the highest of 38 neighborhoods and 34.5 points above the citywide figure of 34.0%. 24.4% of residents 5 and over speak only English at home. The most common other language is Chinese, spoken at home by 67.4%.

Poverty

30.3% of residents in Chinatown live below the federal poverty line, the 2nd highest of 38 neighborhoods and 19.1 points above the citywide figure of 11.2%. The federal line is set nationally and does not adjust for San Francisco's costs, so it undercounts people who struggle to afford the city.

Compare every San Francisco neighborhood by median age, residents 65 and over, bachelor's degrees, transit commuting, foreign-born residents and poverty, or see all of them on the San Francisco demographics overview.

* Small sample: the Census margin of error on a marked figure is large compared with the estimate, so treat it as a rough guide.

Overcrowding and Turnover in Chinatown

22.9% of occupied homes in Chinatown have more than one person per room, the Census definition of overcrowding, the highest of 38 neighborhoods. Citywide it is 6.0%. 6.5% of households moved in 2023 or later, a rough measure of turnover, against 6.2% citywide. Rankings: overcrowding, recent movers.

Housing Trends in Chinatown Since 2010

Between the 2010-2014 and 2020-2024 surveys, the median rent in Chinatown went from $554 to $887, up 21% after inflation. The median home value went from $959,000 to $1,461,000, up 15% in real terms, and median household income rose 19% in real terms.

Decennial census, 2010 and 2020

The full census counts every home rather than sampling, so these figures have no margin of error. Chinatown's population shrank 1% between 2010 and 2020 while its housing stock shrank 3%.

Chinatown ZIP Codes

Chinatown is split across 3 ZIP codes. 94133 has the largest share of its homes, about 54%.

Shares are estimates. Each census tract's homes are split among the ZIP codes that overlap it, by land area, and ZIP codes with under 3% of the homes are left out. ZIP codes follow mail routes, not neighborhood lines. Rents are for the whole ZIP code: Census median rent (2020-2024) and Zillow asking rent (September 2026). See every neighborhood's ZIP codes.

Map of Chinatown

Chinatown is one of the 41 Analysis Neighborhoods the San Francisco Planning Department uses for reporting, made up of 6 2020 census tracts. It sits in supervisor district 3.

Nearby: Financial District/South Beach, Nob Hill, North Beach, Russian Hill. Or see all neighborhoods.

Census tracts: 061102, 061101, 011800, 011300, 010701, 010702. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25001 to B25077, B19001, B25008, B25014, B25024, B25034, B25038, B25070), 2010 SF1 and 2020 DHC; DataSF Analysis Neighborhoods crosswalk; Zillow Research ZHVI and ZORI, September 2026. Dollar figures are in 2024 dollars unless marked nominal. Full method on the methodology page.