1-Bedroom Apartments for Rent in Redwood City
As of September 1, 2026, Rentomatics tracks 103 1-bedroom apartments for rent in Redwood City, starting at $1,200/month. Listings are aggregated from Craigslist, Zumper, and other Bay Area sources and refreshed continuously.
Redwood City is the county seat of San Mateo County, sitting mid-Peninsula between San Carlos to the north and Menlo Park and Atherton to the south. Its downtown, centered on Broadway and Courthouse Square, is one of the Peninsula's genuine turnaround stories: the domed 1910 courthouse now houses the San Mateo County History Museum, the restored Fox Theatre anchors the live-music scene, and Theatre Way and Broadway are lined with restaurants and a downtown cinema. East of Highway 101 lies Redwood Shores, a planned waterfront district of lagoons and corporate campuses, including Oracle's landmark bayfront complex and Electronic Arts. The city long marketed itself with the slogan "Climate Best by Government Test," and its warm, sheltered weather still holds up. It remains more affordable than Palo Alto or Menlo Park next door, though prices have been climbing as downtown fills in with new housing.
One-bedrooms in Redwood City are the sweet spot for singles and couples who want a separate bedroom without taking on a roommate.
103 listings available — updated September 1, 2026, refreshed continuously
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Living in Redwood City
The vibe
Downtown Redwood City has real evening life, unusual for a Peninsula city its size: Courthouse Square hosts summer concerts, movie nights, and a weekly farmers market, and the Broadway restaurant strip runs to a diverse mix of cuisines. Away from the center, the mood shifts quickly to residential calm, from the leafy hillside streets of Emerald Hills and Farm Hill on the west side to the tidy postwar grids of Woodside Plaza and Friendly Acres. Redwood Shores, across 101, feels distinctly suburban and corporate, with landscaped lagoon-side paths, the Bair Island wildlife refuge nearby, and trails along the bay. Neighborhood parks like Red Morton and Stulsaft give families space that the dense downtown does not.
Getting around
The Redwood City Caltrain station sits right downtown, now served by the electrified line, putting both San Francisco and San Jose within a direct commuter-rail ride and making downtown one of the more transit-connected spots on the mid-Peninsula. SamTrans buses run along El Camino Real, the main north-south surface artery that parallels Highway 101. Woodside Road (Highway 84) is the key east-west connector, climbing west toward Woodside and continuing east as Route 84 across the Dumbarton Bridge toward Fremont and the East Bay, which makes it a heavily used commute route. Downtown and the flatlands are reasonably walkable and bikeable, but Emerald Hills, Farm Hill, and Redwood Shores are car-dependent.
The rental market
The rental stock splits along clear lines. Near downtown, El Camino Real, and Broadway, renters find a mix of older mid-century apartment buildings alongside a wave of newer mixed-use developments that came with the downtown revitalization, so studios and one-bedrooms with contemporary amenities are relatively well represented here. Redwood Shores skews toward newer complexes and townhome-style units built around the lagoons. The west-side neighborhoods, Emerald Hills, Farm Hill, and Woodside Plaza, are dominated by single-family homes, so family-sized rentals there tend to be houses rather than apartments. Newer downtown and Shores buildings commonly offer in-unit laundry, parking, and shared gyms, while older stock trades those for lower rents and larger floor plans.
Who it's for
Redwood City suits Caltrain commuters who want a walkable downtown without paying Palo Alto or Menlo Park rents, and tech workers based at Redwood Shores, Oracle, Electronic Arts, or the wider Stanford-orbit job market. Families lean toward the quieter west-side neighborhoods for space and single-family rentals, while younger renters gravitate to new downtown apartments near the station. The honest tradeoffs: Highway 101 and the Dumbarton Bridge approach get badly congested at rush hour, downtown units near Broadway and the Fox Theatre can be noisy on event nights, and the hillside and Shores neighborhoods that offer quiet also require a car for nearly everything. Rents are lower than the marquee Peninsula cities but are still high in absolute terms and trending upward.
Frequently asked
How many 1-bedroom apartments are available in Redwood City right now?
As of September 1, 2026, Rentomatics tracks 103 1-bedroom apartments for rent in Redwood City. Listings refresh continuously from Craigslist, Zumper, and other Bay Area sources.
What is the rent for a 1-bedroom in Redwood City?
Among current Rentomatics listings, 1-bedroom apartments in Redwood City start at $1,200/month, with an average of $4,156 and a median of $2,950/month. Prices reflect 103 active listings updated September 1, 2026.
How often are Rentomatics listings updated?
Rentomatics continuously refreshes listings from Craigslist, Zumper, and other Bay Area rental sources. Stale listings are removed within 5 days of last sighting.
Does Rentomatics show broker fees?
Yes. Every Rentomatics listing displays whether a broker fee applies, and users can filter to show only no-fee apartments.
What is Redwood City like?
Redwood City has one of the Peninsula's most revitalized downtowns around Broadway, a Caltrain station, Oracle's HQ at the waterfront, and the Stanford spillover effect. Still cheaper than Palo Alto but climbing; 1BRs commonly $3,000-$3,400.