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 601–644 of 644 eligible cities — 44 on this page. Page 13 of 13.

#CityIndexHome ValueRentIncome
601Calabasas298$1,688,461$4,023$165,288
602San Anselmo301$1,665,524$4,339$173,641
603Tamalpais-Homestead Valley304$1,863,900$3,697$243,227
604Santa Barbara307$1,824,406$3,692$106,182
605Campbell308$1,843,263$3,471$145,268
606Isla Vista308$1,480,803$7,332$25,972
607Dana Point309$1,755,567$4,324$141,520
608Rancho Palos Verdes314$1,786,583$4,505$179,623
609Lafayette315$1,884,079$3,338$228,250
610Danville316$1,824,794$4,112$232,216
611Foster City321$1,835,177$4,417$199,143
612Rolling Hills Estates321$1,860,850$4,339$191,895
613Redwood City323$1,878,298$4,146$157,814
614Encinitas329$1,919,733$4,324$162,229
615Corte Madera329$1,845,968$5,088$232,763
616Mountain View330$1,931,886$4,536$189,917
617Sunnyvale331$1,994,916$3,932$186,170
618Millbrae339$2,047,946$3,843$163,476
619Larkspur352$2,129,682$4,115$140,417
620Belmont361$2,251,024$3,677$205,297
621Villa Park361$2,331,390$3,057$202,245
622Hermosa Beach363$2,256,891$4,028$166,442
623Mill Valley366$2,128,617$5,394$206,212
624Solana Beach372$2,214,965$5,179$152,167
625Coto de Caza378$1,979,149$8,250$243,816
626San Carlos391$2,432,476$4,477$237,470
627Los Gatos401$2,574,478$4,236$217,554
628Palos Verdes Estates404$2,711,796$2,964$242,014
629San Marino413$2,794,267$2,964$214,167
630Coronado416$2,559,053$5,550$134,534
631La Cañada Flintridge417$2,459,679$6,727$241,875
632Kentfield421$2,771,828$3,697$249,896
633Burlingame428$2,811,802$3,903$174,000
634Menlo Park439$2,866,713$4,305$210,025
635Cupertino447$2,965,725$4,375$234,707
636Stanford459$3,172,282$3,272$75,208
637Laguna Beach462$2,990,806$5,303$143,843
638Tiburon486$3,050,305$6,640$232,969
639Manhattan Beach513$3,286,680$6,801$204,306
640Palo Alto520$3,563,763$4,678$231,101
641Beverly Hills528$3,667,785$4,193$132,977
642Newport Beach533$3,697,219$4,375$156,867
643Malibu536$3,155,914$10,251$194,421
644Montecito901$5,604,595$17,833$231,005

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