
The rent costs for one-bedroom apartments in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metro area experienced a 1.4% increase from 2023 to 2024. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in this area went up from $1,934 in 2023 to $1,961 in 2024. This increase placed the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metro area in the No. 4 spot among metro areas in the western U.S. with the highest increases in rent for one-bedroom apartments.

The two metro areas in California that were among the top five in the west for the biggest rent increases for one-bedroom apartments are Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura and Stockton. The Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metro area experienced a 1.4% increase in rent prices, with the average rent rising from $1,934 in 2023 to $1,961 in 2024. The Stockton metro area saw a 1.2% increase, with the average rent going from $1,161 in 2023 to $1,175 in 2024.

The high cost of living in Hawaii mentioned in the CNBC's America's Top States for Business study can be attributed to several factors2. Firstly, Hawaii's geographic isolation as an island state leads to many goods being imported, which drives up costs. Gas prices in Hawaii are among the nation's highest due to this. Secondly, Hawaii has the highest housing costs in the country, with the median price of a single-family home on Oahu hovering around $1 million. This is partly due to strict land-use and zoning regulations, which limit the supply of land available for housing. Lastly, Hawaii's state budget per capita is the third-highest in the nation, resulting in residents paying high taxes to support government spending and liabilities.