$600 A Month For a Place in Menlo? Where?!

Rent costs vary wildly in Menlo Park and Atherton.

Now you can see just how pricey renting is, and how those costs compare neighborhood-by-neighborhood.

A new data-based website, Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks uses U.S. census information compiled from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey to show median household income and monthly rents by census tract.  

The median rent in West Menlo Park was $1,851, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census.  

Rents averaged $1,637 to $1,697 near downtown Menlo Park.

Renting in the neighborhoods around Menlo-Atherton High School cost an average of $1,454 a month. Rents were $1,938 a month in Woodside.

Check out more in the map above. The lighter the color, the cheaper the rent. Rents in several Census tracts in Atherton and Menlo Park weren't reported.

Are you surprised by any of the local data? Tell us in the comments section.
 

Don't expect it to get any cheaper to live here. An MSN Real Estate article published this spring named the 10 cities where rents will rise most this year. Nearby San Jose and San Francisco were the only California cities to make the list.

In San Francisco, the effective rent at end of 2012 was $1,970, a 5.7 percent increase from the year prior, and the forecasted effective rent growth in 2013 is 5.2 percent.

In San Jose, the effective rent at end of 2012 was $1,616, a 5.4 percent increase from 2011. The forecasted effective rent growth in 2013 is 5.3 percent, according to MSN Real Estate.

The average rent in California is $1,185 a month according to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey. Statewide middle rental-range is $996.00 to $1,193.00.

To see the data mapped out census tract by census tract, visit the Rich Block, Poor Blocks website.