Nob Hill 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 Nob Hill

Of 14,144 occupied homes in Nob Hill, 12,292 are rented and 1,852 are owner-occupied. That renter share of 86.9% is the 7th highest of 38 neighborhoods, 25.1 points above the citywide figure of 61.8%. Households average 1.6 people, 1.58 in owned homes and 1.6 in rentals.

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

Owners and Renters by Age

9.2% of households in Nob Hill headed by someone under 35 own their home, the 14th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 4.6 points below the citywide figure of 13.8%. The rate is 10.2% for households headed by someone 35 to 64 and 26.7% for those 65 and over.

Of the renter households here, 35.1% are headed by someone under 35, 0.9 points above the citywide figure of 34.2%, and 16.6% 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 Nob Hill

The median gross rent in Nob Hill is $2,083 a month, estimated from the rent distribution of 12,114 renter households. Gross rent includes utilities. That is the 7th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 16% below the citywide figure of $2,476.

43.6% of renter households here spend 30 percent or more of their income on rent, the Census threshold for being rent-burdened, and 19.5% 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 Nob Hill

Owners in Nob Hill put the median value of their home at $1,246,000, the 13th lowest of 37 neighborhoods and 11% below 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 1.1%. See the home value ranking.

Current Home Prices and Asking Rents in Nob Hill

Zillow puts the typical home in Nob Hill at $993,000 as of September 2026, the 4th lowest of 37 neighborhoods and 31% below the citywide figure of $1,441,000. That is up 11.4% over the past year and down 6.0% over five years, and the one-year change is the 8th 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 Nob Hill (94108, 94109 and 94133) by the homes each holds here, the typical asking rent on a new listing is $4,157 a month as of September 2026, the 5th lowest of 31 neighborhoods and 13% 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 Nob Hill alone. Asking rent is up 29.5% over the past year. Current tenants here pay a median of $2,083 including utilities, so a new lease costs about 100% more than what the typical renter already pays. That premium is the 6th 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 Nob Hill sold for a median of $1,145 per square foot from July to September 2026, by Redfin's sales records, the 18th highest of 36 neighborhoods and 4% above the citywide figure of $1,103. That is up 21.3% from the same three months a year earlier and up 0.6% 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 Lower Nob Hill, Nob Hill and Polk Gulch, the Zillow areas inside this boundary. Asking rent is Zillow's ZIP code index for 94108, 94109 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, 94109 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 Nob Hill

57.7% of Nob Hill's residents feel safe walking alone in their neighborhood at night, the 14th lowest of 35 neighborhoods and 2.0 points below the citywide figure of 59.7%. During the day the figure is 77.8%. 45.8% give the cleanliness of their streets and sidewalks an A or a B, the 13th lowest of 35 neighborhoods. These are the city's own resident surveys for 2023 and 2026, 143 responses from Nob Hill.

See how Nob Hill 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 140 responses, differences of a few points from nearby neighborhoods are within the noise. Methodology.

Vacancy Rate in Nob Hill

4,220 of Nob Hill's 18,364 housing units were vacant when surveyed, a vacancy rate of 23.0%, the highest of 38 neighborhoods and 10.8 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 12.4% 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 Nob Hill

2.5% of homes in Nob Hill are single-family houses, 9.3% are in two-to-four-unit buildings, and 59.8% are in buildings with 20 or more units. The single-family share is the 3rd 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 Nob Hill

59.2% of Nob Hill's housing was built before 1940, the 10th highest of 38 neighborhoods, and 2.6% 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 Nob Hill

The median household income in Nob Hill is $97,100, the 8th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 31% below the citywide figure of $140,970. Income and rent together drive the rent burden figure above. See the income ranking.

Nob Hill Demographics

About 23,536 people live in Nob Hill. Their median age is 39.0, younger than San Francisco as a whole at 40.0. 4.2% of residents are under 18 and 18.1% are 65 or older; the share of older residents is the 19th lowest 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 Nob Hill is White residents, at 38.8% of the population, 2.0 points above the citywide figure of 36.8%. Next are Asian residents at 33.6% and Hispanic or Latino residents at 14.7%. The Census counts Hispanic or Latino origin separately from race, so every other group here means non-Hispanic.

Education

62.1% of adults 25 and over in Nob Hill have at least a bachelor's degree, the 15th lowest of 38 neighborhoods and 1.8 points above the citywide figure of 60.3%. 23.5% hold a graduate or professional degree, and 11.3% did not finish high school.

Commute

Walking leads the commute mix in Nob Hill, at 29.2% of workers. 18.4% take public transit, the 18th highest of 38 neighborhoods, and 15.2% drive alone. Citywide, 31.0% work from home and 18.7% take transit.

Languages and Birthplace

35.5% of people in Nob Hill were born outside the United States, the 16th highest of 38 neighborhoods and 1.5 points above the citywide figure of 34.0%. 56.9% of residents 5 and over speak only English at home. The most common other language is Chinese, spoken at home by 18.4%.

Poverty

12.4% of residents in Nob Hill live below the federal poverty line, the 12th highest of 38 neighborhoods and 1.2 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 Nob Hill

5.4% of occupied homes in Nob Hill have more than one person per room, the Census definition of overcrowding, the 17th highest of 38 neighborhoods. Citywide it is 6.0%. 10.3% of households moved in 2023 or later, a rough measure of turnover, against 6.2% citywide. Rankings: overcrowding, recent movers.

Housing Trends in Nob Hill Since 2010

Between the 2010-2014 and 2020-2024 surveys, the median rent in Nob Hill went from $1,355 to $2,083, up 16% after inflation. The median home value went from $818,000 to $1,246,000, up 15% in real terms, and median household income rose 30% 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. Nob Hill's population grew 3% between 2010 and 2020 while its housing stock grew 7%.

Nob Hill ZIP Codes

Nob Hill is split across 4 ZIP codes. 94109 has the largest share of its homes, about 60%.

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 Nob Hill

Nob Hill is one of the 41 Analysis Neighborhoods the San Francisco Planning Department uses for reporting, made up of 9 2020 census tracts. It sits in supervisor district 3.

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

Census tracts: 012002, 012001, 011902, 011901, 011200, 011102, 011101, 010800, 012100. 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.