Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Revenues:
Rental and other property	$ 602,003	$ 526,696	$ 460,660
Management and other fees from affiliates	11,700	11,489	6,780
Total revenues	613,703	538,185	467,440
Expenses:
Property operating, excluding real estate taxes	138,736	123,813	113,733
Real estate taxes	57,276	48,354	43,777
Depreciation	192,420	169,173	150,009
General and administrative	25,601	23,307	20,694
Cost of management and other fees	6,681	6,513	4,610
Merger expenses	4,284	0	0
Total expenses	424,998	371,160	332,823
Earnings from operations	188,705	167,025	134,617
Interest expense before amortization	(104,600)	(100,244)	(91,694)
Amortization expense	(11,924)	(11,644)	(11,474)
Interest and other income	11,633	13,833	17,139
Equity income (loss) from co-investments	55,865	41,745	(467)
Loss on early retirement of debt, net	(300)	(5,009)	(1,163)
Gain on sale of land	1,503	0	0
Gain on remeasurement of co-investment	0	21,947	0
Income before discontinued operations	140,882	127,653	46,958
Income from discontinued operations	31,173	11,937	10,558
Net income	172,055	139,590	57,516
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(15,772)	(14,306)	(10,446)
Net income attributable to controlling interest	156,283	125,284	47,070
Dividends to preferred stockholders	(5,472)	(5,472)	(4,753)
Excess of cash paid to redeem preferred stock and units over the carrying value	0	0	(1,949)
Net income available to common stockholders	150,811	119,812	40,368
Basic:
Income before discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 3.26	$ 3.10	$ 0.94
Income from discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.79	$ 0.32	$ 0.30
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 4.05	$ 3.42	$ 1.24
Weighted average number of shares/units outstanding during the year (in shares)	37,248,960	35,032,491	32,541,792
Diluted:
Income before discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 3.25	$ 3.09	$ 0.94
Income from discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.79	$ 0.32	$ 0.30
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 4.04	$ 3.41	$ 1.24
Weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year (in shares)	37,335,295	35,124,921	32,628,714
Essex Portfolio, L.P. [Member]
Revenues:
Rental and other property	602,003	526,696	460,660
Management and other fees from affiliates	11,700	11,489	6,780
Total revenues	613,703	538,185	467,440
Expenses:
Property operating, excluding real estate taxes	138,736	123,813	113,733
Real estate taxes	57,276	48,354	43,777
Depreciation	192,420	169,173	150,009
General and administrative	25,601	23,307	20,694
Cost of management and other fees	6,681	6,513	4,610
Merger expenses	4,284	0	0
Total expenses	424,998	371,160	332,823
Earnings from operations	188,705	167,025	134,617
Interest expense before amortization	(104,600)	(100,244)	(91,694)
Amortization expense	(11,924)	(11,644)	(11,474)
Interest and other income	11,633	13,833	17,139
Equity income (loss) from co-investments	55,865	41,745	(467)
Loss on early retirement of debt, net	(300)	(5,009)	(1,163)
Gain on sale of land	1,503	0	0
Gain on remeasurement of co-investment	0	21,947	0
Income before discontinued operations	140,882	127,653	46,958
Income from discontinued operations	31,173	11,937	10,558
Net income	172,055	139,590	57,516
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(6,834)	(6,347)	(5,571)
Net income attributable to controlling interest	165,221	133,243	51,945
Preferred interest distributions - Series F, G, & H	(5,472)	(5,472)	(4,753)
Preferred interest distributions - limited partner	0	0	(1,650)
Excess of cash paid to redeem preferred stock and units over the carrying value	0	0	(1,949)
Net income available to common stockholders	$ 159,749	$ 127,771	$ 43,593
Basic:
Income before discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 3.27	$ 3.11	$ 0.95
Income from discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.79	$ 0.32	$ 0.30
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 4.06	$ 3.43	$ 1.25
Weighted average number of shares/units outstanding during the year (in shares)	39,380,385	37,251,537	34,773,599
Diluted:
Income before discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 3.26	$ 3.10	$ 0.95
Income from discontinued operations available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.79	$ 0.32	$ 0.30
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders (in dollars per share)	$ 4.05	$ 3.42	$ 1.25
Weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year (in shares)	39,466,720	37,343,967	34,860,521