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Japantown Housing Data
Japantown has 2,454 housing units across 1 census tracts, one of the smaller neighborhoods in San Francisco. The median rent is $2,114, the median owner-occupied home is worth $1,379,000, and 91.3% of occupied homes are rented. On today's market, Zillow puts asking rent at $4,605 and the typical home at $1,095,000 as of August 2026.
That rent is the 9th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 15% below the citywide figure of $2,476. The figures below come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, rolled up from tract level as described in the methodology, and are part of the San Francisco housing overview.
Ranks are among the 38 San Francisco neighborhoods on this site. "Of 38" means 38 neighborhoods with at least 500 homes. Census figures are ACS 2020-2024; the last four cards are Zillow market data for August 2026.
Who owns and who rents in Japantown
Of 2,209 occupied homes in Japantown, 2,017 are rented and 192 are owner-occupied. That renter share of 91.3% is the 4th highest of 38 neighborhoods, 29.5 points above the citywide figure of 61.8%. Households average 1.66 people, 2.17 in owned homes and 1.62 in rentals.
See every neighborhood ranked by renter share or by homeownership rate.
What rent costs in Japantown
The median gross rent in Japantown is $2,114 a month, estimated from the rent distribution of 1,908 renter households. Gross rent includes utilities. That is the 9th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 15% below the citywide figure of $2,476.
46.4% of renter households here spend 30 percent or more of their income on rent, the Census threshold for being rent-burdened, and 27.8% spend half or more. Citywide, 39.6% of renters are rent-burdened. Compare on the median rent, rent burden and severe rent burden rankings.
What homes are worth in Japantown
Owners in Japantown put the median value of their home at $1,379,000, the 17th lowest of 37 neighborhoods and 3% below the citywide figure of $1,425,000. 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.
What Japantown costs on the market right now
Zillow puts the typical home in Japantown at $1,095,000 as of August 2026, the 8th lowest of 37 neighborhoods and 23% below the citywide figure of $1,425,000. That is up 11.6% over the past year and up 3.7% over five years, and the one-year change is the 11th 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.
The typical asking rent on a new listing in Japantown is $4,605 a month as of August 2026, by Zillow's rent index, the 13th highest of 38 neighborhoods and in line with the city as a whole. Asking rent is up 27.8% over the past year. Current tenants here pay a median of $2,114 including utilities, so a new lease costs about 118% more than what the typical renter already pays. That premium is the 5th highest of 38 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 89.1%.
Rankings: current home values, asking rents and the asking rent premium.
Source: Zillow Research, ZHVI and ZORI, August 2026. The home value is the average of Zillow's index for Japantown, the Zillow area inside this boundary. Asking rent is Zillow's ZIP code index for 94115, weighted by the homes in each ZIP. Zillow's areas do not match the Planning Department boundaries exactly. Method on the methodology page.
How many homes sit empty in Japantown
245 of Japantown's 2,454 housing units were vacant when surveyed, a vacancy rate of 10.0%, the 18th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 2.2 points below 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 5.5% against 6.7% citywide. Why the vacant units are empty:
Rankings: overall vacancy, rental vacancy and homeowner vacancy. Every reason above has its own ranking of 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.
What kind of buildings Japantown has
2.4% of homes in Japantown are single-family houses, 11.6% are in two-to-four-unit buildings, and 75.3% are in buildings with 20 or more units. The single-family share is the 2nd 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.
When Japantown's homes were built
16.7% of Japantown's housing was built before 1940, the 6th lowest of 38 neighborhoods, and 1.2% 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+.
Household income in Japantown
The median household income in Japantown is $91,800, the 6th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 35% below the citywide figure of $140,600. Income and rent together drive the rent burden figure above. See the income ranking.
Overcrowding and turnover in Japantown
3.9% of occupied homes in Japantown have more than one person per room, the Census definition of overcrowding, the 18th lowest of 38 neighborhoods. Citywide it is 6.0%. 2.4% of households moved in 2023 or later, a rough measure of turnover, against 6.2% citywide. Rankings: overcrowding, recent movers.
How Japantown's housing has changed
Between the 2010-2014 and 2020-2024 surveys, the median rent in Japantown went from $1,396 to $2,114, up 14% after inflation. The median home value went from $604,000 to $1,379,000, up 72% in real terms, and median household income rose 24% in real terms.
| Survey | Population | Housing units | Renters | Vacancy | Median rent | Median value | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-2014 | 3,918 | 2,423 | 90.1% | 5.7% | $1,396 | $604k | $56k |
| 2015-2019 | 3,551 | 2,535 | 86.6% | 10.6% | $1,470 | $970k | $88k |
| 2020-2024 | 4,011 | 2,454 | 91.3% | 10.0% | $2,114 | $1.38M | $92k |
Decennial census, 2010 and 2020
The full census counts every home rather than sampling, so these figures have no margin of error. Japantown's population grew 8% between 2010 and 2020 while its housing stock shrank 2%.
| Census | Population | Housing units | Occupied | Vacant | Vacancy rate | Renters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3,622 | 2,441 | 2,176 | 265 | 10.9% | 87.9% |
| 2020 | 3,899 | 2,380 | 2,156 | 224 | 9.4% | 92.2% |
Where Japantown is
Japantown is one of the 41 Analysis Neighborhoods the San Francisco Planning Department uses for reporting, made up of 1 2020 census tracts. It sits in supervisor district 5.
Nearby: Haight Ashbury, Hayes Valley, Lone Mountain/USF, Pacific Heights. Or see all neighborhoods.
Census tracts: 015500. 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, August 2026. Dollar figures are in 2024 dollars unless marked nominal. Full method on the methodology page.