Mission Valley

San Diego, CA

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Mission Valley - San Diego, CA

Area Guide

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At the heart of San Diego, you'll discover Mission Valley

Walkable Location Urban Outdoor Adventures Art and Culture

Wildly popular with residents and tourists alike, Mission Valley provides easy access to downtown San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium, and neighboring Old Town. If you are looking at San Diego apartments, Mission Valley is a terrific neighborhood near everything -- SeaWorld San Diego, the San Diego Zoo, Tecolote Canyon Natural Park, Mission Trails Regional Park, and the San Diego International Airport. Mission Beach -- home to the Mission Beach Boardwalk -- is roughly eight miles west.

Living in Mission Valley is an adventure -- from the outdoor type of rock climbing and hiking to the cultural adventures of art galleries, amazing food, historic sites, and exciting theaters. Be sure to visit Mission San Diego de Alcala, one of the state's first missions. This beautiful mission was first built in 1769 and is a National Historic Landmark. Centrally located, Mission Valley makes a great home base -- it is very close to I-5 and I-8 for easy commutes throughout the San Diego area.

On the quieter side, Mission Valley is very family-friendly with excellent schools like the Preuss School. It is a diverse community and is considered one of San Diego's best neighborhoods. Mission Valley residents cheer on the SDSU football team at the SDCCU Stadium and go shopping at the Fashion Valley Mall and Westfield Mission Valley.

Explore the Neighborhood

The upscale Fashion Valley Mall is home to more than 200 stores

Friars Mission Center provides a variety of shops and a Ralphs supermarket

The Metropolitan Transit System provides car-free commutes to Mission Valley residents

The open-air Westfield Mission Valley provides additional shopping and dining options

Rent Trends

As of February 2026, the average apartment rent in Mission Valley is $2,590 for a studio, $2,874 for one bedroom, $3,471 for two bedrooms, and $4,526 for three bedrooms. Apartment rent in Mission Valley has decreased by -1.9% in the past year.

  • Studio

  • 544 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $2,590/month

    Average Rent

  • 1 BR

  • 734 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $2,874/month

    Average Rent

  • 2 BR

  • 1,109 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $3,471/month

    Average Rent

  • 3 BR

  • 1,396 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $4,526/month

    Average Rent

Transportation

56

Somewhat Walkable

out of 100 WalkScore® Rating

You might be able to get out and walk when living in this area. Some errands can be accomplished on foot, but for others you’ll need a car.

49

Good Transit

out of 100 TransitScore® Rating

The area around this property has good transit with many nearby transportation options.

48

Somewhat Bikeable

out of 100 BikeScore® Rating

You might be able to find places to ride your bike in this area, but you’ll most likely want your car for most errands.

Reviews of Mission Valley - San Diego, CA

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3.9 23 Reviews

Current Resident

7 years and 2 months agoNiche Review

True to most shopping districts, Mission Valley is a great place to shop, hang around, and of course purchase property for the ever increasing real estate market in this locatin. There are not many places to venture off for a night out in town but at the same time it is pretty quiet for the most part which is always a good thing. Tons of food and it being essentially the center of San Diego you can travel anywhere in a matter of a couple of minutes. Mission Valley overall is a great place to live.

Current Resident

8 years and 8 months agoNiche Review

mission valley is a great place to live for the single, coupled or newly wed starting a family. there are many apartment complexes in this location, with most pretty up to date and renovated units. there are many restaurants, eateries, and shopping centers that are easy to get to. Mission Valley is very up and coming. New developments might cause some traffic in the area, but nonetheless you really are paying for location. You are 10 mins from downtown, 5 minutes from the beach, everything is easy to get to.

Current Resident

8 years and 8 months agoNiche Review

Everything all in one place! From great restaurants to high end shopping! Unfortunately this also means it is a high traffic area.

Current Resident

8 years and 8 months agoNiche Review

The atmosphere is nice and friendly, the site is beautiful it is a standard southern California community. The weather is always nice and traffic is minimal.

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Points of Interest

Parks and Recreation

  • Old Town San Diego Historic District
  • Tecolote Canyon Natural Park & Nature Center
  • San Diego Zoo
  • San Diego Natural History Museum
  • Fleet Science Center

Airports

  • San Diego International

Top Apartments in Mission Valley

Houses for Rent in Mission Valley

Property Management Companies

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Methodology

† Our analysis of utilities, groceries, transportation, healthcare, home prices, and other goods and services is sourced from the Cost of Living Index, a respected benchmark published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) that provides a thorough overview of living expenses across different regions.

Rent data is provided by CoStar Group’s Market Trend reports. As the industry leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, CoStar conducts extensive research to produce and maintain a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. We combine this data with public record to provide the most up-to-date rental information available.

Consumer goods, services, and home prices are sourced from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). The data on this page is updated quarterly. It was last published in February 2026.