What $2,200 rents you in San Francisco right now

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. Is one person's studio is another person's townhouse? Today's price: $2,200.

↑ Careful consideration of Craigslist ads reveals the noted phenomena of the incredible shrinking apartment, as dimensions dwindle for the same price point the further a prospective renter gets from the hem of the city. This one-bed, one-bath Balboa Park (termed Mission Terrace in the ad) apartment offers the largest spread of the five, although the photos present very little of its advertised 750 square feet. Note that this spot is just right around the corner from a BART station. The price is $2,200/month, but no pets allowed.

↑ Moving up to Noe Valley, the accommodations retract a bit at this slightly smaller looking one-bedroom, one-bath apartment. The city has no record of recent building permits here in spite of the claim that this place was recently “updated,” but those records tend do tend to be on the spotty side. The layout look a little tight here, but obviously the hope is that the coveted Noe Valley address will entice someone willing to put in $2,200/month for the place. No dogs allowed (whimper), but cats are okay.

↑ Moving again to the Tenderloin (right next to the Little Saigon corridor), one bedroom becomes a junior one bedroom instead. Although it’s a bit suspicious that said bedroom never puts in an appearance in the ad, the landlord assures renters that it’s “adjacent to the living room shown in the picture.” In any case, it at least spreads its square footage out in a more pleasing way than the Noe Valley home, even if there’s less of it. One bath here, too. And once again, it’s $2,200/month and dogs are told to go fetch, but the landlord deems cats okay.

↑ And now a listing that bucks the shrinking apartment trend; not by being larger, as it’s only a one-bath, 500-square-foot studio, but rather by not necessarily being any closer to the heart of the action, as this more economical arrangement resides in the Richmond, near Geary and 11th Street. Then again, the Inner Richmond is not the hinterland it once was; the neighborhood very nearly took our Curbed Cup last year (although back-to-back winner the Bayview eventually prevailed), so maybe this is a deceptively attractive offer after all. It’s a top-floor place for $2,200/month, and in what is starting to seem almost like a sort of conspiracy, the lease again allows for cats but not dogs.

↑ Cresting Nob Hill brings would-be renters to the most petite option of all, a one-bath micro studio on Jackson Street that clocks in at a mere 300 square feet from end to end. There’s barely even enough room for the bay windows to have any bay to them, although in truth there’s something almost graceful about their highly minimalist angles. The circa 1909 Edwardian building is a knockout too. But is it worth $2,200/month to squeeze in and enjoy the Nob Hill sights? Time will tell. The ad doesn’t mention anything about pets.