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 501–550 of 644 eligible cities — 50 on this page. Page 11 of 13.

#CityIndexHome ValueRentIncome
501Temple City218$1,075,393$3,272$104,425
502Livermore219$1,075,802$3,079$160,775
503Brea219$1,117,626$2,871$131,129
504Monterey220$1,159,526$2,714$102,846
505East Palo Alto220$1,012,662$3,836$113,493
506Oak Park220$1,121,813$3,066$163,085
507Healdsburg220$1,094,955$3,373$103,554
508Jamul220$1,024,308$3,800$152,748
509El Cerrito221$1,137,205$2,691$127,876
510Daly City222$1,115,941$2,962$123,547
511Live Oak222$1,015,200$4,254$103,674
512Pismo Beach222$1,095,618$3,539$118,072
513Orange223$1,125,988$3,116$117,113
514Cerritos223$1,088,827$3,503$135,439
515Bonita223$1,128,504$3,024$118,674
516Alameda224$1,137,620$2,953$137,697
517Glendale225$1,180,773$2,790$88,393
518Burbank225$1,176,932$2,783$97,082
519Novato226$1,061,654$3,889$115,736
520Tustin227$1,157,866$3,152$112,503
521Altadena228$1,126,414$3,556$128,720
522Ojai228$1,152,667$3,495$82,656
523Pasadena229$1,187,354$3,022$105,192
524Lake Forest230$1,179,160$3,195$135,175
525Granite Bay230$1,171,263$3,533$184,606
526Union City231$1,198,720$2,945$133,715
527Mission Viejo232$1,206,543$3,144$136,123
528Pleasure Point232$1,183,600$4,254$119,821
529Poway234$1,207,885$3,177$148,359
530Albany234$1,245,398$2,709$144,107
531Laguna Hills235$1,232,306$3,106$128,851
532Fairfax235$1,214,267$3,150$141,653
533Walnut236$1,170,403$3,852$129,449
534North Fair Oaks236$1,276,900$3,697$104,884
535Capitola236$1,237,690$3,319$102,976
536Rancho Mission Viejo237$1,187,404$3,762$192,813
537Newark238$1,187,013$3,675$169,064
538La Palma238$1,187,498$3,850$117,989
539Dublin239$1,230,548$3,299$214,385
540Eastern Goleta Valley239$1,361,700$3,106$146,284
541East Foothills239$1,346,100$3,272$199,375
542Culver City243$1,271,790$3,477$117,389
543Scotts Valley243$1,248,334$3,876$143,750
544Pacifica244$1,255,193$3,503$160,523
545La Crescenta-Montrose244$1,287,936$3,336$130,000
546Rossmoor244$1,406,900$3,057$211,597
547San Rafael245$1,298,041$3,182$119,435
548Agoura Hills245$1,234,398$4,030$171,302
549South San Francisco246$1,222,899$4,027$136,578
550San Bruno246$1,288,154$3,359$141,272

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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