Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Revenues:
Rental and other property	$ 312,178	$ 280,229
Management and other fees from affiliates	2,024	2,644
Total revenues	314,202	282,873
Expenses:
Property operating, excluding real estate taxes	60,071	55,618
Real estate taxes	34,419	31,553
Depreciation and amortization	109,707	106,907
General and administrative	9,182	10,545
Merger and integration expenses	0	2,388
Acquisition and investment related costs	828	547
Total expenses	214,207	207,558
Earnings from operations	99,995	75,315
Interest expense	(52,466)	(47,546)
Total return swap income	3,123	0
Interest and other income	5,208	4,199
Equity income in co-investments	15,068	4,311
Gain on sale of real estate and land	20,258	7,112
Deferred tax expense on gain on sale of real estate and land	(4,279)	0
Gain on remeasurement of co-investment	0	21,362
Net income	86,907	64,753
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(5,071)	(4,076)
Net income attributable to controlling interest	81,836	60,677
Dividends to preferred stockholders	(1,314)	(1,314)
Excess of redemption value of preferred stock over the carrying value	(2,541)	0
Net income available to common stockholders	77,981	59,363
Comprehensive income	84,696	65,352
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(4,998)	(4,091)
Comprehensive income attributable to controlling interest	$ 79,698	$ 61,261
Basic:
Net income available to common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 1.19	$ 0.92
Weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period (in shares)	65,405,654	64,185,455
Diluted:
Net income available to common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 1.19	$ 0.92
Weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period (in shares)	65,557,639	64,394,680
Dividends per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.60	$ 1.44
Essex Portfolio, L.P. [Member]
Revenues:
Rental and other property	$ 312,178	$ 280,229
Management and other fees from affiliates	2,024	2,644
Total revenues	314,202	282,873
Expenses:
Property operating, excluding real estate taxes	60,071	55,618
Real estate taxes	34,419	31,553
Depreciation and amortization	109,707	106,907
General and administrative	9,182	10,545
Merger and integration expenses	0	2,388
Acquisition and investment related costs	828	547
Total expenses	214,207	207,558
Earnings from operations	99,995	75,315
Interest expense	(52,466)	(47,546)
Total return swap income	3,123	0
Interest and other income	5,208	4,199
Equity income in co-investments	15,068	4,311
Gain on sale of real estate and land	20,258	7,112
Deferred tax expense on gain on sale of real estate and land	(4,279)	0
Gain on remeasurement of co-investment	0	21,362
Net income	86,907	64,753
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(2,287)	(2,013)
Net income attributable to controlling interest	84,620	62,740
Dividends to preferred stockholders	(1,314)	(1,314)
Excess of redemption value of preferred stock over the carrying value	(2,541)	0
Net income available to common stockholders	80,765	61,426
Comprehensive income	84,696	65,352
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(2,287)	(2,013)
Comprehensive income attributable to controlling interest	$ 82,409	$ 63,339
Basic:
Net income available to common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 1.19	$ 0.93
Weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period (in shares)	67,633,519	66,369,769
Diluted:
Net income available to common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 1.19	$ 0.92
Weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period (in shares)	67,785,504	66,578,994
Dividends per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.6	$ 1.44