ESSEX PROPERTY TRUST, INC.

Pay Versus Performance Table

The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of our named executive officers (“NEOs”) for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and our financial performance for each such fiscal year:

(1)Amounts represent compensation actually paid to our CEOs and the average compensation actually paid to our remaining NEOs for the relevant fiscal year, as determined under SEC rules (and described below), which includes the individuals indicated in the table below for each fiscal year:

Compensation actually paid to our NEOs represents the “Total” compensation reported in the Summary Compensation Table for the applicable fiscal year, as adjusted as follows:

(2)Fair value or change in fair value, as applicable, of equity awards in the “Compensation Actually Paid” columns was determined by reference to (i) for market-based awards, the fair value calculated by a Monte Carlo simulation model as of the applicable year-end dates, which utilizes multiple input variables, including expected volatility of our stock price and other assumptions appropriate for determining fair value, to estimate the probability of satisfying the performance objective established for the award, including the expected volatility of our stock price relative to the applicable comparative index and a risk-free interest rate and (ii) for stock options, a Black Scholes value as of the applicable year-end or vesting dates. For additional information on the assumptions used to calculate the valuation of the awards, see the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and prior fiscal years.

(3)For the relevant fiscal year, represents the cumulative TSR (the “Peer Group TSR”) of the Nareit Apartment Index.

(4)Amounts shown in Thousands.

(5)Core Funds from Operations (“Core FFO”) and Core FFO per diluted share are non-GAAP measures. Funds from Operations (“FFO”) is a financial measure that is commonly used in the REIT industry. The Company presents FFO and FFO excluding non-core items, or Core FFO, as supplemental operating performance measures. In calculating FFO, the Company follows the definition for this FFO published by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“Nareit”), which is the leading REIT industry association. The Company believes that, under the Nareit FFO definition, the two most significant adjustments made to net income are (i) the exclusion of historical cost depreciation and (ii) the exclusion of gains and losses from the sale of previously depreciated properties. For a discussion of the calculation of Core FFO and Core FFO per share-diluted and reconciliations to the most directly comparable measures under U.S. GAAP, see Appendix A.

Narrative Disclosure to Pay Versus Performance Table

Relationship Between Financial Performance Measures

The graphs below compare the compensation actually paid to our CEO and the average of the compensation actually paid to our remaining NEOs, with (i) our cumulative TSR, (ii) our Peer Group TSR, (iii) our net income, and (iv) our Core FFO per diluted share, in each case, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

TSR amounts reported in the graph assume an initial fixed investment of $100, and that all dividends, if any, were reinvested.

Compensation Actually Paid versus Total Stockholder Return

Compensation Actually Paid versus Net Income

Compensation Actually Paid versus Core FFO per Diluted Share

Pay Versus Performance Tabular List

We believe the following performance measures represent the most important financial performance measures used by us to link compensation actually paid to our named executive officers for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025:

1. Core FFO;

2. Core FFO per diluted share; and

3. Same-property NOI

For additional details regarding our most important financial performance measures, please see the sections titled “Executive Summary” and “Overview of Named Executive Officer Compensation Program” in our Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) elsewhere in this proxy statement.

For a discussion of the calculation of Core FFO, Core FFO per share-diluted, EBITDAre, net-debt-to-EBITDAre, NOI and same-property NOI and reconciliations to the most directly comparable measures under U.S. GAAP, see Appendix A.