Most Affordable Cities in California

Cost of living rankings for 644 cities in California with uncapped home, rent, and income estimates. On average, California is expensive with a statewide average Cost Index of 183.

1 source baseline is past its update cadence — newer official vintage not reflected

Cheapest City

Salton City

Index: 86

Most Expensive

Montecito

Index: 901

State Average

183

National: 100

Cities Ranked

644

eligible statewide total

California Affordability Ranking

Showing 1–50 of 644 eligible cities — 50 on this page. Page 1 of 13.

#	City	Index	Home Value	Rent	Income
1	Salton City	86	$200,600	$1,347	$47,827
2	Susanville	90	$241,335	$1,248	$61,641
3	East Bakersfield	90	$208,700	$1,656	$38,644
4	Clearlake	91	$210,415	$1,700	$41,867
5	Potomac Park	91	$219,600	$1,656	$51,166
6	Yreka	91	$253,092	$1,254	$43,982
7	Thermalito	94	$254,900	$1,509	$54,865
8	Benton Park	94	$240,600	$1,656	$49,717
9	East Niles	95	$251,500	$1,656	$55,124
10	La Cresta	96	$262,000	$1,656	$49,605
11	Taft	96	$206,749	$1,352	$72,772
12	Mojave	96	$236,654	$1,656	$55,660
13	East Porterville	96	$257,700	$1,450	$41,061
14	Hillcrest	97	$272,700	$1,575	$46,285
15	Corning	97	$300,274	$1,361	$56,627
16	Blythe	99	$216,607	$1,688	$56,625
17	Goshen	99	$289,300	$1,450	$73,125
18	Mayfair	99	$283,300	$1,685	$62,191
19	Twentynine Palms	100	$247,171	$1,470	$62,554
20	Franklin CDP (Merced County)	100	$308,200	$1,517	$58,295
21	Willows	100	$320,456	$1,361	$64,068
22	Ridgecrest	101	$268,364	$1,231	$89,250
23	Red Bluff	101	$314,801	$1,538	$51,529
24	Barstow	102	$266,337	$1,424	$53,380
25	Avenal	102	$249,658	$1,512	$54,741
26	Garnet	102	$267,900	$2,103	$72,694
27	Palermo	102	$243,090	$1,509	$50,588
28	Oildale	103	$238,800	$1,656	$51,298
29	Calipatria	103	$270,252	$1,347	$53,299
30	West Modesto	103	$304,700	$1,803	$61,440
31	Madera Acres	104	$346,800	$1,460	$78,457
32	Earlimart	104	$271,025	$1,450	$52,881
33	Happy Valley	104	$334,100	$1,581	$92,222
34	Corcoran	105	$269,140	$1,512	$59,905
35	Lamont	105	$253,780	$1,656	$37,217
36	Magalia	105	$269,837	$1,509	$56,920
37	Huron	105	$248,518	$1,685	$52,500
38	Farmersville	106	$288,747	$1,450	$60,804
39	Colusa	106	$372,402	$1,344	$71,250
40	Cottonwood CDP (Shasta County)	107	$363,000	$1,581	$95,577
41	Williams	107	$381,483	$1,344	$90,761
42	Yosemite Lakes	107	$374,000	$1,460	$97,813
43	Linda	108	$371,700	$1,600	$72,776
44	Oroville	108	$307,957	$1,355	$52,270
45	California City	108	$274,794	$1,781	$60,113
46	Orland	108	$394,986	$1,361	$64,945
47	Chowchilla	109	$390,028	$1,460	$66,514
48	Lindsay	109	$312,840	$1,450	$53,201
49	Shasta Lake	109	$299,940	$1,581	$67,401
50	Orosi	109	$308,818	$1,450	$54,604

2026 edition — based on ACS 2024, Zillow 2026-08, HUD FY2027, and BEA 2024 dated sources. The edition year is not the observation year.

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