What $2,300 rents 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 another person’s townhouse? Today’s price: $2,300.

What can renters expect aesthetically from a “quiet, private studio in the gorgeous Art Deco Drake Hopkins Building” in Nob Hill? Well, the style is certainly not quiet, keeping with the era’s Gilded Age sensibilities right down to the gold trim itself, not to mention the almost blinding baroqueness of the lobby. Compared to all of that presentation the apartment itself—a 420-square-foot studio for $2,300/month—looks rather muted and modest, but maybe this is a case of the outer and inner spaces creating a yin and yang principle. Unfortunately, it’s a “sorry, no pets” deal here.

On the other hand, there’s nothing deco or gilded about this locale in Bernal Heights, which presents a weathered shingled facade behind which is a one-bed, one-bath, 700-square-foot apartment. “This is a rent controlled property,” according to the ad, the upstairs unit in a two-level duplex. “Kitchen is very retro with 1930s O’Kiefe stove and metal counter sink,” the ad notes, also adding that “floors are like new” but also paradoxically that the kitchen linoleum is worn enough to warrant the necessary addition of a rug. No mention of pets here; price is $2,300/month.

Once again the Book Concern building on McAllister adds a modest but beautiful “humblebrag” style to the slate, along with a “fully-furnished single-bedroom condo” for $2,295/month. As usual the catch with this building is that it will never win the space race in terms of square footage; the advertised micro-apartment measures only 264 square feet. Once again the ad tries to refer to this neighborhood as SoMa despite the fact that it is undeniably north of Market Street, a clear dealbreaker if ever there was one; maybe they’re trying to distract from the fact that the place breaks Tenderloin precedent by not allowing pets.

This house in Daly City—which again is so close to being in SF that the owner evidently hopes nobody will notice having crossed the line, but no dice here—is quite the 1962 knockout from the curb. However, note that the deal offered here is not for the house itself but for the downstairs in-law apartment, a one-bed, one-and-a-half bath setup. “One master suite and spacious family room with custom built bar counter” in a “detached home [with] only one side neighbor that gives maximum of privacy and serenity possible” for $2,300/month, but lacking the serenity of pets along with the deal.

At least pet owners can take refuge in the Sunset, where a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment on Lincoln “next to Golden Gate Park and near all other amenities” advertising “wood floors in the living room, carpet in the bedroom and stain of steel appliances in the kitchen” is also $2,300/month, this one with cats and dogs both allowed along for company.