Santa Monica is a prime-tier Class A submarket of Los Angeles with average asking rent around $88/sqft/yr.

  • Deepest Westside tech tenancy.
  • Lifestyle-led talent pitch.
  • Significant amenity premium.

Santa Monica, Los Angeles — Class A submarket

Westside tech corridor. · Tier: prime · Avg rent: $88/sqft/yr

TL;DR

  • Deepest Westside tech tenancy.
  • Lifestyle-led talent pitch.
  • Significant amenity premium.

Overview

Santa Monica holds the deepest Westside tech tenancy. Snap, Headspace, and a long tail of consumer-tech and SaaS firms anchor demand.

Tenant profile

Consumer tech, SaaS, gaming, AdTech.

Typical specification

15-30,000 sqft floor plates.

Transit

Metro E Line terminates in Downtown Santa Monica.

Strong cycling commute culture.

Amenities

Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier, beach.

Comparable buildings

  • The Pen Factory
  • Colorado Center

Where Santa Monica sits in Los Angeles

Santa Monica is one of 6 Class A submarkets we cover in Los Angeles, classified as prime tier with an average asking rent around $88/sqft/yr. Compared with the broader Los Angeles Class A stock, Santa Monica typically attracts Consumer tech, SaaS, gaming, AdTech and competes most directly with the city's other prime submarkets on building specification, transit access, and amenitisation.

Adjacent submarkets to study alongside Santa Monica: Century City, Beverly Hills & West Hollywood, Culver City, Downtown LA. The full Los Angeles submarket atlas is at /cities/los-angeles.

Topic deep-dives for Santa Monica

For an institutional Class A occupier evaluating Santa Monica, the highest-leverage analyses to commission next are the rent benchmark, the concession-package comparable, and the ESG performance baseline. Class A Atlas covers each as a dedicated topic page for this submarket:

Related glossary

Terminology specific to Los Angeles Class A leasing and to the prime tier: Class A, Trophy asset, Effective rent, Concession package, TI allowance, Submarket tier.

Editorial provenance

Reviewed by Miriam Hollander — Lead market analyst. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our methodology and editorial standards.

Primary sources for this page

Full sources index · Submit a correction

Related topics