Portola

San Francisco, CA

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Portola - San Francisco, CA Area Guide

A charming community near John McLaren Park

Charming Vibrant Convenient Commuter Scenic

Hidden away in the southeastern corner of San Francisco, the quiet residential neighborhood of Portola connects to the downtown area with direct access to U.S. Route 101 and Interstate 280. Residents use these roads to travel to Downtown San Francisco and Oakland in under 25 minutes. Portola's relative obscurity has created a peaceful, close-knit community, where pastel-colored homes available for rent line the streets.

Numerous local businesses on San Bruno Avenue lie within walking distance of the neighborhood’s rentals. On sunny days, many residents wind through the trails of the sprawling John McLaren Park, which borders Portola to the southwest. The park offers outdoor concerts in its Jerry Garcia Amphitheater throughout the year, where residents and visitors alike savor live music performances by a wide variety of artists.

Rent Trends

As of April 2026, the average apartment rent in Portola is $1,508 for a studio, $1,406 for one bedroom, and $2,093 for two bedrooms. Apartment rent in Portola has increased by 1.2% in the past year.

  • Studio

  • 0 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,508/month

    Average Rent

  • 1 BR

  • 300 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,406/month

    Average Rent

  • 2 BR

  • 0 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $2,093/month

    Average Rent

Getting Around

Moderately Walkable

Walkability

60 / 100

Exceptional Public Transit

Transit

90 / 100

Very Drivable

Drivability

80 / 100

Moderately Bikeable

Bikeability

60 / 100

Daily Essentials

Supermarket Within a 5 Minute Walk

Groceries

90 / 100

Good Restaurant Variety Nearby

Restaurants

70 / 100

Fair Café Variety Nearby

Cafes

50 / 100

Fair Variety of Shops Nearby

Shopping

50 / 100

Recreation

Very Large Amount of Park Space Nearby

Parks

80 / 100

Good Wellness Amenity Variety Nearby

Wellness

60 / 100

Local Vibe

Mostly Calm Atmosphere

Vibrancy

30 / 100

Fair Nightlife Variety Nearby

Nightlife

40 / 100

Not Noisy

Quiet Score

100 / 100

Points of Interest

Parks and Recreation

  • Candlestick Point State Recreation Area
  • Heron's Head Park
  • Randall Museum
  • Buena Vista Park
  • San Bruno Mountain State Park

Airports

  • San Francisco International
  • Metro Oakland International

Top Apartments in Portola

Houses for Rent in Portola

Property Management Companies

Search Nearby Rentals

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.

Demographic information comes from Neustar and combines detailed address data with U.S. Census and American Community Survey statistics to produce reliable local estimates.