Cost of Living in California (2026) — 307 Cities Compared

California at a Glance

Cities Tracked

307

with census data

Avg Cost Index

107.4

US avg = 100

Avg Median Rent

$2,153

per month

Avg Household Income

$109,019

annual median

Most & Least Affordable Cities

Most Affordable

#	City	Cost Index	Median Rent
1	Oxnard	85.8	$2,032
2	Thousand Oaks	85.8	$2,664
3	Fresno	91.9	$1,421
4	Stockton	98.1	$1,577
5	Riverside	107.3	$1,914

Most Expensive

#	City	Cost Index	Median Rent
1	San Francisco	117.6	$2,476
2	Oakland	117.6	$1,979
3	Berkeley	117.6	$2,133
4	Los Angeles	114.7	$1,933
5	Long Beach	114.7	$1,871

Cost Index = BEA Regional Price Parity (US avg = 100)

Popular Cities in California

Los Angeles San Diego San Jose San Francisco Fresno Sacramento Long Beach Oakland Bakersfield Anaheim

Explore California Cities in Depth

California Cities — Full Table

Click columns to sort


Los Angeles	3,857,263	114.7	$1,933	$921,200	$81,939
San Diego	1,389,526	110.7	$2,313	$906,700	$108,077
San Jose	990,138	—	$2,669	$1,233,200	$146,427
San Francisco	830,235	117.6	$2,476	$1,394,500	$140,970
Fresno	545,970	91.9	$1,421	$374,800	$70,991
Sacramento	528,706	109.1	$1,779	$506,300	$87,321
Long Beach	455,548	114.7	$1,871	$806,600	$87,430
Oakland	439,418	117.6	$1,979	$929,900	$101,600
Bakersfield	411,986	—	$1,472	$371,700	$80,540
Anaheim	344,521	114.7	$2,175	$831,200	$95,227
Stockton	322,326	98.1	$1,577	$440,900	$79,907
Riverside	319,069	107.3	$1,914	$584,800	$91,045
Santa Ana	312,534	—	$2,082	$713,000	$93,999
Irvine	311,690	—	$2,997	$1,191,500	$136,719
Chula Vista	276,375	110.7	$2,229	$758,700	$108,032
Santa Clarita	230,221	—	$2,544	$784,700	$123,062
Fremont	228,295	—	$2,933	$1,403,800	$181,506
San Bernardino	222,724	107.3	$1,508	$422,300	$67,415
Modesto	219,215	—	$1,690	$442,700	$79,891
Fontana	214,169	—	$1,839	$586,800	$102,821
Moreno Valley	211,666	—	$2,135	$503,700	$93,222
Oxnard	200,928	85.8	$2,032	$652,700	$96,212
Huntington Beach	195,240	—	$2,510	$1,100,000	$120,919
Glendale	190,748	—	$2,182	$1,102,300	$88,393
Ontario	180,547	107.3	$2,030	$607,600	$88,941
Elk Grove	179,155	—	$2,262	$630,100	$125,924
Santa Rosa	177,090	—	$2,152	$713,900	$99,060
Rancho Cucamonga	175,411	—	$2,357	$740,200	$111,895
Oceanside	172,242	—	$2,303	$770,300	$97,737
Garden Grove	170,964	—	$2,012	$814,100	$92,174
Lancaster	169,169	—	$1,764	$446,600	$81,511
Palmdale	164,634	—	$1,802	$471,000	$81,770
Salinas	161,761	—	$1,991	$654,100	$91,908
Corona	159,670	—	$2,228	$700,700	$109,242
Hayward	158,801	—	$2,391	$854,400	$113,318
Roseville	155,955	109.1	$2,142	$661,400	$119,288
Sunnyvale	154,236	—	$3,039	$1,801,800	$186,170
Escondido	149,668	—	$2,046	$714,500	$91,967
Pomona	147,943	—	$1,810	$593,800	$79,479
Visalia	143,939	—	$1,490	$371,500	$81,989
Torrance	142,130	—	$2,280	$1,074,700	$116,217
Fullerton	140,968	—	$2,194	$902,600	$104,286
Orange	138,266	—	$2,327	$945,800	$117,113
Victorville	137,627	—	$1,618	$385,600	$74,410
Pasadena	136,969	—	$2,265	$1,093,300	$105,192
Santa Clara	130,256	—	$3,016	$1,582,600	$178,958
Simi Valley	125,634	—	$2,579	$823,800	$122,081
Thousand Oaks	125,205	85.8	$2,664	$991,600	$135,603
Clovis	124,725	—	$1,792	$482,700	$99,241
Vallejo	124,268	—	$2,073	$589,500	$90,171
Concord	124,035	—	$2,274	$797,600	$108,709
Fairfield	120,785	—	$2,266	$624,300	$101,895
Berkeley	120,257	117.6	$2,133	$1,413,900	$108,092
Antioch	116,477	—	$2,278	$629,700	$97,465
Richmond	115,505	—	$1,960	$668,200	$95,391
Carlsbad	114,373	110.7	$2,808	$1,257,000	$142,748
Murrieta	112,064	—	$2,388	$639,800	$114,081
East Los Angeles	111,647	—	$1,494	$643,100	$68,741
Temecula	111,167	—	$2,347	$679,700	$121,063
Downey	110,939	—	$1,937	$796,600	$90,699
Santa Maria	110,462	—	$1,925	$531,700	$84,746
Costa Mesa	110,330	—	$2,446	$1,115,100	$111,505
Menifee	110,305	—	$2,110	$537,300	$93,454
San Buenaventura (Ventura)	109,857	—	$2,198	$827,300	$103,069
West Covina	107,037	—	$2,245	$779,800	$101,065
Jurupa Valley	107,011	—	$1,741	$574,600	$97,550
El Monte	106,109	—	$1,736	$644,000	$68,030
Inglewood	104,569	—	$1,787	$792,800	$72,750
Burbank	104,546	—	$2,192	$1,089,100	$97,082
El Cajon	104,449	—	$1,856	$681,700	$67,511
Rialto	104,143	—	$1,759	$487,900	$88,857
San Mateo	103,105	—	$3,077	$1,618,700	$153,504
Vacaville	102,596	—	$2,299	$620,900	$111,126
Chico	102,188	—	$1,488	$468,100	$66,977
Daly City	101,964	—	$2,551	$1,115,000	$123,547
Hesperia	100,775	—	$1,590	$409,000	$72,160
Norwalk	99,789	—	$2,090	$644,700	$100,085
Vista	99,114	—	$2,249	$762,400	$94,975
Tracy	96,966	—	$2,478	$699,000	$121,119
Arden-Arcade	94,994	—	$1,588	$560,200	$77,321
San Marcos	94,882	—	$2,348	$868,000	$109,377
Redding	93,409	—	$1,379	$382,300	$70,466
Carson	92,871	—	$1,956	$704,400	$108,703
Compton	92,698	—	$1,664	$580,200	$78,465
Chino	92,652	—	$2,336	$683,400	$104,682
Mission Viejo	92,151	—	$2,839	$1,009,600	$136,123
Merced	91,953	—	$1,393	$372,600	$63,122
Indio	91,950	—	$1,437	$458,400	$77,167
South Gate	91,483	—	$1,531	$636,300	$74,571
Hemet	91,326	—	$1,575	$352,200	$57,719
Santa Monica	91,169	—	$2,402	$1,755,500	$114,885
Westminster	89,860	—	$2,168	$858,300	$85,541
Manteca	89,043	—	$2,065	$589,900	$97,055
San Leandro	87,826	—	$2,186	$844,200	$101,420
Santa Barbara	87,779	—	$2,413	$1,570,800	$106,182
Citrus Heights	86,995	—	$1,827	$454,600	$82,314
Lake Forest	86,281	—	$2,672	$937,000	$135,175
Whittier	86,165	—	$1,906	$822,600	$97,201
San Ramon	85,993	—	$2,968	$1,509,500	$196,161
Livermore	85,522	—	$2,677	$1,105,600	$160,775
Hawthorne	85,191	—	$1,782	$863,400	$75,848
Folsom	83,916	109.1	$2,352	$755,200	$139,804
Newport Beach	83,845	—	$3,316	$2,000,000	$156,867
Mountain View	83,732	—	$3,062	$1,927,000	$189,917
Buena Park	82,871	—	$2,206	$838,800	$110,550
Redwood City	82,447	—	$2,968	$1,801,700	$157,814
Rancho Cordova	81,849	—	$1,787	$477,600	$89,585
Alhambra	81,022	—	$1,939	$857,800	$88,024
Perris	80,511	—	$1,876	$474,700	$88,911
Lakewood	79,850	—	$2,347	$827,200	$119,177
Upland	79,257	—	$2,029	$739,400	$105,830
Tustin	78,981	—	$2,449	$950,400	$112,503
Milpitas	78,578	—	$3,120	$1,251,700	$178,798
Napa	78,239	—	$2,282	$856,400	$105,963
Chino Hills	77,927	—	$2,894	$874,900	$126,334
Alameda	77,238	—	$2,474	$1,235,700	$137,697
Pleasanton	76,960	—	$3,060	$1,537,100	$190,124
Carmichael	76,948	—	$1,702	$579,500	$85,914
Bellflower	76,819	—	$1,830	$705,700	$78,722
Pittsburg	76,257	—	$2,264	$597,900	$99,861
Apple Valley	75,473	—	$1,444	$407,400	$69,882
Redlands	73,375	—	$2,005	$618,900	$105,041
Rocklin	73,327	—	$2,258	$703,400	$124,168
Turlock	72,502	—	$1,612	$460,600	$82,995
Lake Elsinore	72,461	—	$2,078	$566,000	$101,888
Tulare	70,945	—	$1,435	$329,800	$72,410
Dublin	70,803	—	$3,191	$1,317,100	$214,385
Eastvale	70,633	—	$3,252	$831,900	$160,069
Camarillo	70,186	—	$2,734	$827,300	$113,428
Baldwin Park	70,138	—	$1,867	$606,900	$80,663
Walnut Creek	70,088	—	$2,680	$1,057,300	$130,432
Yuba City	69,471	—	$1,454	$434,600	$75,477
Redondo Beach	69,291	—	$2,691	$1,279,200	$150,245
Madera	67,831	—	$1,353	$359,900	$63,933
Lodi	67,607	—	$1,680	$492,500	$88,530
Union City	67,464	—	$2,713	$1,104,900	$133,715
Palo Alto	67,237	—	$3,484	$2,000,000	$231,101
Yorba Linda	67,170	—	$2,846	$1,147,100	$157,582
Davis	66,978	—	$2,187	$866,100	$90,045
Brentwood	65,208	—	$2,758	$836,600	$142,494
Castro Valley	65,001	—	$2,554	$1,104,600	$142,779
Lynwood	64,578	—	$1,652	$597,600	$74,844
South San Francisco	64,305	—	$2,802	$1,188,800	$136,578
Laguna Niguel	64,139	—	$2,903	$1,190,900	$140,452
San Clemente	63,273	—	$2,460	$1,398,400	$140,062
Porterville	63,157	—	$1,148	$285,700	$60,461
La Habra	61,970	—	$2,129	$781,600	$100,106
Woodland	61,854	—	$1,583	$548,200	$90,180
Santa Cruz	61,607	—	$2,452	$1,209,000	$115,475
Encinitas	61,480	—	$2,886	$1,646,800	$162,229
Montebello	61,045	—	$1,827	$697,900	$79,971
La Mesa	60,797	—	$2,049	$812,000	$95,028
Florence-Graham	60,690	—	$1,521	$545,200	$65,132
San Rafael	60,433	—	$2,377	$1,355,600	$119,435
Pico Rivera	60,272	—	$1,786	$648,600	$88,201
Hanford	59,754	—	$1,309	$349,400	$76,461
Gardena	59,422	—	$1,809	$700,600	$84,803
Santee	59,332	—	$2,250	$727,200	$113,394
Petaluma	59,247	—	$2,440	$878,600	$115,430
Monterey Park	59,132	—	$1,888	$863,000	$81,855
Gilroy	59,004	—	$2,301	$1,027,400	$133,107
National City	58,893	—	$1,692	$612,200	$66,841
Cupertino	58,566	—	$3,501	$2,000,000	$234,707
Highland	56,675	—	$1,629	$485,600	$77,120
Beaumont	56,266	—	$1,681	$503,500	$107,118
Fountain Valley	56,258	—	$2,631	$1,072,300	$115,237
South Whittier	55,650	—	$1,908	$708,300	$100,800
San Jacinto	55,180	—	$1,615	$433,700	$80,647
Arcadia	55,170	—	$2,191	$1,441,800	$113,516
West Sacramento	54,927	—	$1,665	$525,800	$93,188
Yucaipa	54,421	—	$1,711	$502,100	$90,794
Hacienda Heights	54,291	—	$2,300	$820,800	$109,193
Colton	53,772	—	$1,661	$443,800	$71,208
Diamond Bar	53,355	—	$2,521	$902,200	$108,281
Huntington Park	53,108	—	$1,505	$572,700	$59,996
Lincoln	52,956	—	$2,090	$651,000	$111,990
Placentia	52,826	—	$2,388	$921,000	$115,929
Novato	52,546	—	$2,506	$1,032,500	$115,736
Cathedral City	52,267	—	$1,601	$453,100	$73,572
Paramount	52,050	—	$1,875	$533,700	$75,250
Palm Desert	51,990	—	$1,778	$542,000	$77,513
Watsonville	51,712	—	$1,889	$686,000	$78,393
Delano	51,679	—	$1,199	$301,900	$67,010
Aliso Viejo	51,113	—	$2,854	$917,900	$142,439
El Dorado Hills	51,026	—	$2,552	$909,500	$165,349
Glendora	50,926	—	$2,254	$862,700	$113,569
Florin	50,211	—	$1,622	$386,900	$71,111
Rosemead	50,013	—	$1,834	$807,200	$73,566
Covina	49,888	—	$1,931	$718,900	$98,671
Cypress	49,498	—	$2,483	$913,900	$130,215
Ceres	49,342	—	$1,639	$424,800	$79,025
Azusa	49,031	—	$1,887	$641,400	$90,721
Poway	48,713	—	$2,301	$1,034,800	$148,359
San Luis Obispo	48,491	—	$1,965	$935,100	$73,685
Antelope	48,301	—	$2,189	$489,800	$99,067
North Highlands	47,957	—	$1,636	$367,600	$65,495
Cerritos	47,867	—	$2,930	$935,300	$135,439
Los Banos	47,593	—	$1,557	$440,900	$68,171
Brea	47,469	—	$2,397	$922,300	$131,129
La Mirada	47,180	—	$2,217	$825,900	$109,288
Rancho Santa Margarita	46,990	—	$2,625	$971,200	$152,560
Newark	46,903	—	$2,776	$1,142,800	$169,064
Rowland Heights	45,911	—	$1,967	$851,300	$85,617
Morgan Hill	45,425	—	$2,474	$1,210,200	$163,920
French Valley	45,269	—	$3,119	$679,800	$148,520
Oakley	45,183	—	$1,953	$660,200	$137,677
Palm Springs	45,070	—	$1,562	$604,000	$73,119
Rohnert Park	44,575	—	$2,279	$666,300	$99,273
El Centro	44,240	—	$1,052	$323,100	$53,082
Hollister	43,811	—	$1,914	$717,500	$111,834
Vineyard	43,751	—	$2,090	$596,000	$105,313
Lompoc	43,646	—	$1,589	$472,900	$72,004
Danville	43,401	—	$3,501	$1,681,700	$232,216
Coachella	43,307	—	$1,144	$367,600	$68,596
Campbell	42,781	—	$2,737	$1,617,000	$145,268
San Bruno	42,307	—	$2,773	$1,207,500	$141,272
Altadena	41,705	—	$2,355	$1,120,000	$128,720
Rancho Palos Verdes	40,864	—	$3,501	$1,609,400	$179,623
Culver City	39,931	—	$2,737	$1,142,900	$117,389
Stanton	39,402	—	$1,997	$579,300	$84,707
La Quinta	38,707	—	$1,785	$661,600	$99,250
Calexico	38,585	—	$1,093	$313,600	$49,783
San Gabriel	38,392	—	$1,915	$945,700	$90,488
Bell Gardens	38,229	—	$1,694	$563,900	$62,298
Adelanto	37,964	—	$1,437	$349,100	$68,685
Montclair	37,810	—	$1,889	$569,100	$77,659
Monrovia	37,571	—	$2,114	$909,400	$96,021
Wildomar	37,277	—	$2,003	$552,400	$103,506
Pacifica	37,261	—	$3,098	$1,249,800	$160,523
La Puente	37,142	—	$1,849	$617,700	$86,602
Martinez	36,903	—	$2,353	$859,800	$127,355
Claremont	36,595	—	$2,237	$897,000	$125,647
Foothill Farms	36,435	—	$1,695	$414,000	$68,260
Orangevale	35,958	—	$1,932	$565,100	$99,832
Moorpark	35,854	—	$2,559	$894,300	$148,480
Temple City	35,430	—	$2,135	$961,800	$104,425
San Juan Capistrano	35,095	—	$2,438	$993,800	$129,457
Lathrop	35,052	—	$2,570	$643,600	$126,421
La Presa	34,962	—	$1,852	$629,700	$93,479
West Hollywood	34,884	—	$2,091	$924,800	$96,995
Oildale	34,687	—	$1,281	$238,800	$51,298
Pleasant Hill	34,235	—	$2,533	$1,077,100	$145,029
Manhattan Beach	34,210	—	$3,449	$2,000,000	$204,306
Westmont	34,123	—	$1,466	$653,800	$50,509
San Dimas	33,789	—	$2,278	$801,800	$105,321
Desert Hot Springs	33,200	—	$1,412	$354,800	$52,761
Fair Oaks	32,799	—	$1,910	$683,000	$116,975
Foster City	32,792	—	$3,501	$1,838,200	$199,143
Dana Point	32,790	—	$3,106	$1,320,300	$141,520
Los Gatos	32,786	—	$3,247	$2,000,000	$217,554
Menlo Park	32,727	—	$3,239	$2,000,000	$210,025
Goleta	32,685	—	$2,437	$1,062,100	$122,370
Bell	32,476	—	$1,575	$591,600	$61,020
Atwater	32,162	—	$1,279	$363,400	$64,472
Fallbrook	32,112	—	$1,786	$784,100	$96,394
Spring Valley CDP (San Diego County)	31,969	—	$2,166	$714,700	$109,110
Seaside	31,814	—	$2,409	$787,100	$85,311
San Pablo	31,720	—	$2,018	$551,700	$79,478
Beverly Hills	31,624	—	$2,830	$2,000,000	$132,977
Orcutt	31,454	—	$2,193	$624,500	$111,416
El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)	31,446	—	$1,981	$687,200	$92,228
Santa Paula	31,376	—	$1,736	$611,200	$79,294
Banning	31,093	—	$1,650	$352,100	$61,764
Lawndale	30,781	—	$1,938	$781,900	$85,441
Laguna Hills	30,740	—	$2,728	$1,012,300	$128,851
Los Altos	30,698	—	$3,501	$2,000,000	$250,001
La Verne	30,600	—	$2,315	$817,000	$103,761
Burlingame	30,525	—	$2,785	$2,000,000	$174,000
Saratoga	30,319	—	$3,501	$2,000,000	$250,001
Temescal Valley	30,069	—	$2,938	$710,400	$122,051
Atascadero	29,712	—	$1,854	$716,500	$91,429
San Carlos	29,614	—	$2,854	$2,000,000	$237,470
Monterey	29,613	—	$2,353	$1,076,300	$102,846
Suisun City	29,286	—	$2,157	$579,500	$94,787
San Lorenzo	29,171	—	$2,163	$847,100	$112,660
East Palo Alto	29,069	—	$2,244	$1,102,600	$113,493
East Niles	28,532	—	$1,250	$251,500	$55,124
Eastern Goleta Valley	28,295	—	$2,964	$1,361,700	$146,284
Ridgecrest	28,225	—	$1,186	$253,900	$89,250
Lemon Grove	27,686	—	$1,893	$705,400	$88,009
Walnut	27,611	—	$3,202	$1,014,000	$129,449
Twentynine Palms	27,355	—	$1,352	$268,200	$62,554
Belmont	27,337	—	$2,875	$2,000,000	$205,297
Brawley	27,283	—	$988	$290,700	$59,311
Lemoore	27,102	—	$1,555	$328,300	$83,724
Benicia	26,749	—	$2,280	$810,000	$121,204
Sanger	26,699	—	$1,209	$364,800	$77,500
Wasco	26,558	—	$1,089	$273,600	$51,727
Soledad	26,365	—	$1,698	$595,900	$96,862
Hercules	26,302	—	$2,991	$769,400	$129,397
Windsor	26,081	—	$2,433	$801,100	$133,979
South Pasadena	26,068	—	$2,284	$1,640,000	$127,175
Eureka	26,010	—	$1,195	$404,500	$57,662
El Cerrito	25,994	—	$2,548	$1,124,400	$127,876
Galt	25,962	—	$1,596	$487,500	$94,393
North Tustin	25,807	—	$2,462	$1,347,800	$177,351
Imperial Beach	25,764	—	$2,011	$857,000	$86,111
Bloomington	25,698	—	$1,609	$469,200	$81,640
West Whittier-Los Nietos	25,615	—	$1,913	$638,900	$111,699
Reedley	25,609	—	$1,288	$334,800	$63,307
Mountain House	25,513	—	$3,501	$946,900	$177,163
Dinuba	25,475	—	$1,209	$275,000	$59,484
Lafayette	25,285	—	$2,892	$2,000,000	$228,250
Riverbank	25,166	—	$1,604	$463,200	$87,966
Loma Linda	25,122	—	$1,855	$596,900	$82,353
Barstow	25,100	—	$1,091	$245,000	$53,380
Norco	25,054	—	$1,925	$782,400	$127,566

Cost Index = BEA Regional Price Parity (US avg = 100) · Income & Rent = US Census ACS

Moving Guides Involving California

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Compare California cities head-to-head

Use our comparison tool to put any two cities side by side. Or explore national rankings to see how California cities stack up across the US. For example, Los Angeles vs San Diego.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Cost of Living in California

What is the cost of living in California?

The average cost of living index across cities in California is approximately 107.4 (US average = 100), which is slightly above the US average. Median gross rent averages around $2,153/month and median household income averages around $109,019/year.

What are the cheapest cities to live in California?

The most affordable cities in California by cost of living index are: 1. Oxnard (index 85.8), 2. Thousand Oaks (index 85.8), 3. Fresno (index 91.9).

What is the median rent in California?

The average median gross rent across cities in California is approximately $2,153/month. Rent varies significantly by city and neighborhood — use the city profiles below for specific figures.

What are the income tax rates in California?

State income tax information for California is not yet available in our database.

What is the sales tax in California?

Sales tax information for California is not yet available in our database.

Is it expensive to move to California?

California has a cost of living index of approximately 107.4 and average median rent around $2,153/month. It is somewhat above the US average in cost, so factor that into your relocation budget. Use our moving guides for salary equivalence calculations.

Data last updated: June 1, 2026 · Sources: US Census ACS, BEA RPP, BLS OEWS, HUD FMR, Tax Foundation · Methodology

Cost of Living in California