Nine California cities lead nation for highest rents

California was home to all but one of the nation’s 10 most expensive rental cities, according to “Housing Costs of Renters: 2000,” a new Census Bureau report.

Irvine, Santa Clara and Fremont topped the list with median gross rents of more than $1,200 a month.

Other Southern California cities on the list were Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Huntington Beach. To the north, high-rent cities were Sunnyvale, San Jose and Daly City. Stamford, Conn., was the only non-Golden State city to make the top 10.

California renters spent the largest share of their incomes -- 27.7% -- on rent, according to the report based on the 2000 census. Renters in other states spent less. For the first time in 50 years, the proportion of household income spent on rent fell between decades, from 26.4% in 1990 to 25.5% in 2000.