Cheapest places to live in California

Every California city and town with 20,000 or more people, ranked by median home value, with rent, commute and growth beside it. All Census data.

By Sol Lakein, founder of Slower Sundays. Updated November 2026.

CorcoranLowest home values$236,100 median
BrawleyLowest rent$988 a month
299Places ranked20,000+ residents

The 3 cheapest in California

#1
Corcoran
Home value
$236,100
Rent
$1,160
Growth
0.0%
#2
Barstow
Home value
$245,000
Rent
$1,091
Growth
-2.4%
#3
Ridgecrest
Home value
$253,900
Rent
$1,186
Growth
+1.4%

The 15 cheapest places to live in California

#	Place	Median home value	Median rent	Commute	Growth since 2020
1	Corcoran	$236,100	$1,160	22.3 min	0.0%
2	Barstow	$245,000	$1,091	28.2 min	-2.4%
3	Ridgecrest	$253,900	$1,186	16.9 min	+1.4%
4	Twentynine Palms	$268,200	$1,352	15.9 min	-7.6%
5	Wasco	$273,600	$1,089	23.3 min	-1.9%
6	Dinuba	$275,000	$1,209	23.0 min	+5.4%
7	Porterville	$285,700	$1,148	23.5 min	+0.2%
8	Brawley	$290,700	$988	18.2 min	+5.6%
9	Delano	$301,900	$1,199	22.2 min	+1.8%
10	Oroville	$311,600	$1,093	19.9 min	+1.5%
11	Calexico	$313,600	$1,093	25.8 min	0.0%
12	Selma	$315,300	$1,232	24.1 min	-0.3%
13	El Centro	$323,100	$1,052	22.0 min	-0.3%
14	Lemoore	$328,300	$1,555	21.1 min	+0.8%
15	Tulare	$329,800	$1,435	22.8 min	+7.2%

Cheap often comes with a trade-off. Check the growth column: a shrinking population can mean fewer jobs nearby.

All 299, cheapest first

See all 299, cheapest first

#	Place	Median home value	Median rent	Commute	Population 2025
1	Corcoran	$236,100	$1,160	22.3 min	22,358
2	Barstow	$245,000	$1,091	28.2 min	24,804
3	Ridgecrest	$253,900	$1,186	16.9 min	28,333
4	Twentynine Palms	$268,200	$1,352	15.9 min	25,939
5	Wasco	$273,600	$1,089	23.3 min	26,525
6	Dinuba	$275,000	$1,209	23.0 min	25,949
7	Porterville	$285,700	$1,148	23.5 min	63,088
8	Brawley	$290,700	$988	18.2 min	28,008
9	Delano	$301,900	$1,199	22.2 min	52,334
10	Oroville	$311,600	$1,093	19.9 min	20,451
11	Calexico	$313,600	$1,093	25.8 min	38,623
12	Selma	$315,300	$1,232	24.1 min	24,702
13	El Centro	$323,100	$1,052	22.0 min	44,382
14	Lemoore	$328,300	$1,555	21.1 min	27,291
15	Tulare	$329,800	$1,435	22.8 min	73,907
16	Reedley	$334,800	$1,288	24.6 min	26,982
17	Shafter	$335,800	$1,253	23.3 min	23,871
18	Adelanto	$349,100	$1,437	47.0 min	38,798
19	Hanford	$349,400	$1,309	22.6 min	62,229
20	Banning	$352,100	$1,650	32.6 min	31,852
21	Hemet	$352,200	$1,575	36.4 min	93,649
22	Desert Hot Springs	$354,800	$1,412	28.5 min	34,009
23	Madera	$359,900	$1,353	25.7 min	69,017
24	Imperial	$360,900	$1,255	18.6 min	22,330
25	Atwater	$363,400	$1,279	28.3 min	32,133
26	Yucca Valley	$363,400	$1,428	28.3 min	21,887
27	Sanger	$364,800	$1,209	23.5 min	27,228
28	Coachella	$367,600	$1,144	23.2 min	45,411
29	Visalia	$371,500	$1,490	22.9 min	146,541
30	Bakersfield	$371,700	$1,472	23.6 min	422,165
31	Merced	$372,600	$1,393	28.6 min	99,724
32	Fresno	$374,800	$1,421	22.4 min	555,549
33	Redding	$382,300	$1,379	16.7 min	94,092
34	Victorville	$385,600	$1,618	40.4 min	141,395
35	Eureka	$404,500	$1,195	15.8 min	25,304
36	Apple Valley	$407,400	$1,444	41.1 min	75,247
37	Hesperia	$409,000	$1,590	42.9 min	102,605
38	San Bernardino	$422,300	$1,508	29.7 min	222,044
39	Ceres	$424,800	$1,639	33.8 min	48,982
40	San Jacinto	$433,700	$1,615	40.5 min	56,014
41	Yuba City	$434,600	$1,454	26.9 min	69,485
42	Los Banos	$440,900	$1,557	54.6 min	49,614
43	Stockton	$440,900	$1,577	31.7 min	324,597
44	Modesto	$442,700	$1,690	30.2 min	219,652
45	Colton	$443,800	$1,661	27.5 min	53,383
46	Lancaster	$446,600	$1,764	30.8 min	170,084
47	Patterson	$450,200	$1,655	41.6 min	26,587
48	Cathedral City	$453,100	$1,601	19.9 min	52,375
49	Citrus Heights	$454,600	$1,827	28.0 min	86,348
50	Oakdale	$457,900	$1,559	35.4 min	23,246
51	Indio	$458,400	$1,437	23.0 min	94,269
52	Turlock	$460,600	$1,612	26.2 min	72,864
53	Riverbank	$463,200	$1,604	30.0 min	26,557
54	Chico	$468,100	$1,488	17.8 min	105,081
55	Palmdale	$471,000	$1,802	39.9 min	161,845
56	Lompoc	$472,900	$1,589	27.6 min	43,315
57	Perris	$474,700	$1,876	37.1 min	83,237
58	Rancho Cordova	$477,600	$1,787	26.7 min	87,554
59	Clovis	$482,700	$1,792	23.6 min	129,347
60	Highland	$485,600	$1,629	30.4 min	57,614
61	Seal Beach	$486,800	$2,649	28.8 min	24,075
62	Galt	$487,500	$1,596	31.2 min	26,964
63	Rialto	$487,900	$1,759	31.9 min	106,554
64	Lodi	$492,500	$1,680	24.1 min	69,100
65	Cudahy	$494,100	$1,711	31.3 min	21,445
66	Yucaipa	$502,100	$1,711	32.6 min	54,953
67	Beaumont	$503,500	$1,681	35.7 min	60,835
68	Moreno Valley	$503,700	$2,135	35.5 min	214,263
69	Sacramento	$506,300	$1,779	25.3 min	536,449
70	West Sacramento	$525,800	$1,665	24.7 min	56,216
71	Greenfield	$531,400	$1,724	23.8 min	21,138
72	Santa Maria	$531,700	$1,925	22.4 min	111,390
73	Paramount	$533,700	$1,875	28.4 min	50,755
74	Menifee	$537,300	$2,110	41.5 min	118,592
75	Palm Desert	$542,000	$1,778	21.0 min	53,259
76	Woodland	$548,200	$1,583	24.5 min	62,513
77	San Pablo	$551,700	$2,018	32.3 min	31,678
78	Wildomar	$552,400	$2,003	38.4 min	37,889
79	Bell Gardens	$563,900	$1,694	27.9 min	37,367
80	Lake Elsinore	$566,000	$2,078	42.9 min	75,067
81	Montclair	$569,100	$1,889	30.2 min	37,563
82	Huntington Park	$572,700	$1,505	32.4 min	51,544
83	Jurupa Valley	$574,600	$1,741	31.7 min	107,311
84	Stanton	$579,300	$1,997	29.0 min	40,161
85	Suisun City	$579,500	$2,157	31.9 min	29,454
86	Compton	$580,200	$1,664	30.5 min	90,500
87	Riverside	$584,800	$1,914	31.3 min	323,057
88	Fontana	$586,800	$1,839	33.4 min	221,223
89	Port Hueneme	$587,000	$2,228	22.6 min	20,987
90	Vallejo	$589,500	$2,073	34.2 min	123,287
91	Manteca	$589,900	$2,065	37.6 min	96,693
92	Bell	$591,600	$1,575	30.0 min	31,625
93	Pomona	$593,800	$1,810	31.8 min	147,807
94	Soledad	$595,900	$1,698	30.0 min	26,357
95	Loma Linda	$596,900	$1,855	19.6 min	25,221
96	Lynwood	$597,600	$1,652	30.3 min	63,512
97	Pittsburg	$597,900	$2,264	38.0 min	77,542
98	Palm Springs	$604,000	$1,562	22.2 min	45,315
99	Dixon	$604,800	$1,859	26.7 min	21,116
100	Baldwin Park	$606,900	$1,867	28.9 min	68,880
101	Ontario	$607,600	$2,030	31.5 min	187,013
102	Santa Paula	$611,200	$1,736	27.5 min	31,774
103	National City	$612,200	$1,692	25.4 min	57,807
104	La Puente	$617,700	$1,849	30.9 min	36,423
105	Redlands	$618,900	$2,005	24.9 min	74,128
106	Vacaville	$620,900	$2,299	28.2 min	103,850
107	Fairfield	$624,300	$2,266	30.7 min	122,489
108	Antioch	$629,700	$2,278	42.0 min	118,958
109	Elk Grove	$630,100	$2,262	30.8 min	185,007
110	Maywood	$634,400	$1,525	31.0 min	23,600
111	South Gate	$636,300	$1,531	32.5 min	90,071
112	Murrieta	$639,800	$2,388	37.4 min	114,124
113	Azusa	$641,400	$1,887	30.1 min	47,447
114	Lathrop	$643,600	$2,570	45.2 min	42,783
115	El Monte	$644,000	$1,736	27.8 min	105,075
116	Norwalk	$644,700	$2,090	29.5 min	97,104
117	Pico Rivera	$648,600	$1,786	30.3 min	58,915
118	Lincoln	$651,000	$2,090	29.8 min	57,367
119	Oxnard	$652,700	$2,032	25.3 min	199,651
120	Salinas	$654,100	$1,991	26.6 min	159,134
121	Oakley	$660,200	$1,953	40.3 min	47,583
122	Roseville	$661,400	$2,142	27.3 min	167,302
123	La Quinta	$661,600	$1,785	25.6 min	39,440
124	Rohnert Park	$666,300	$2,279	26.7 min	44,811
125	Richmond	$668,200	$1,960	34.2 min	114,861
126	San Fernando	$674,700	$1,748	29.8 min	23,449
127	Temecula	$679,700	$2,347	36.3 min	114,865
128	El Cajon	$681,700	$1,856	24.8 min	101,755
129	South Lake Tahoe	$682,400	$1,606	16.5 min	21,115
130	Chino	$683,400	$2,336	33.1 min	96,957
131	Watsonville	$686,000	$1,889	26.1 min	50,716
132	Paso Robles	$687,200	$1,981	25.6 min	31,626
133	American Canyon	$692,600	$2,537	29.7 min	22,773
134	Montebello	$697,900	$1,827	31.0 min	60,693
135	Tracy	$699,000	$2,478	42.5 min	101,901
136	Gardena	$700,600	$1,809	29.3 min	58,460
137	Corona	$700,700	$2,228	34.3 min	161,734
138	Rocklin	$703,400	$2,258	26.1 min	76,821
139	Carson	$704,400	$1,956	27.5 min	90,808
140	Lemon Grove	$705,400	$1,893	29.2 min	27,936
141	Bellflower	$705,700	$1,830	29.4 min	74,719
142	Santa Ana	$713,000	$2,082	24.5 min	315,586
143	Santa Rosa	$713,900	$2,152	22.9 min	179,437
144	Escondido	$714,500	$2,046	27.5 min	146,030
145	Atascadero	$716,500	$1,854	22.9 min	29,464
146	Hollister	$717,500	$1,914	36.6 min	45,695
147	Covina	$718,900	$1,931	31.0 min	49,404
148	Santee	$727,200	$2,250	26.7 min	58,205
149	Upland	$739,400	$2,029	31.1 min	79,446
150	Rancho Cucamonga	$740,200	$2,357	32.3 min	177,856
151	Folsom	$755,200	$2,352	26.6 min	91,983
152	Chula Vista	$758,700	$2,229	28.6 min	275,533
153	Vista	$762,400	$2,249	26.7 min	98,274
154	Hercules	$769,400	$2,991	37.6 min	26,326
155	Oceanside	$770,300	$2,303	28.7 min	170,483
156	Duarte	$779,400	$2,105	30.3 min	22,866
157	West Covina	$779,800	$2,245	32.9 min	105,301
158	La Habra	$781,600	$2,129	30.5 min	60,908
159	Lawndale	$781,900	$1,938	24.6 min	29,892
160	Norco	$782,400	$1,925	36.5 min	25,081
161	Santa Clarita	$784,700	$2,544	34.1 min	228,430
162	Seaside	$787,100	$2,409	21.0 min	31,636
163	Inglewood	$792,800	$1,787	30.5 min	101,662
164	Downey	$796,600	$1,937	31.0 min	108,468
165	Concord	$797,600	$2,274	32.6 min	123,261
166	Windsor	$801,100	$2,433	22.7 min	25,864
167	San Dimas	$801,800	$2,278	31.6 min	32,978
168	Long Beach	$806,600	$1,871	29.9 min	450,469
169	Rosemead	$807,200	$1,834	26.9 min	49,410
170	Benicia	$810,000	$2,280	28.7 min	26,401
171	La Mesa	$812,000	$2,049	23.8 min	59,914
172	Garden Grove	$814,100	$2,012	28.5 min	170,455
173	La Verne	$817,000	$2,315	32.8 min	30,178
174	Marina	$818,700	$2,101	24.1 min	23,256
175	Whittier	$822,600	$1,906	33.2 min	85,815
176	Simi Valley	$823,800	$2,579	27.1 min	124,861
177	La Mirada	$825,900	$2,217	32.0 min	45,952
178	Lakewood	$827,200	$2,347	28.4 min	78,010
179	Ventura	$827,300	$2,198	24.1 min	109,914
180	Camarillo	$827,300	$2,734	23.0 min	68,652
181	Anaheim	$831,200	$2,175	27.4 min	341,008
182	Eastvale	$831,900	$3,252	37.1 min	70,594
183	Brentwood	$836,600	$2,758	40.0 min	66,607
184	Buena Park	$838,800	$2,206	28.8 min	81,741
185	San Leandro	$844,200	$2,186	31.2 min	85,353
186	Hayward	$854,400	$2,391	32.3 min	157,113
187	Napa	$856,400	$2,282	23.9 min	76,562
188	Imperial Beach	$857,000	$2,011	27.1 min	25,206
189	Alhambra	$857,800	$1,939	30.3 min	79,820
190	Westminster	$858,300	$2,168	27.0 min	88,966
191	Martinez	$859,800	$2,353	28.4 min	36,849
192	Glendora	$862,700	$2,254	33.1 min	49,671
193	Monterey Park	$863,000	$1,888	28.4 min	57,457
194	Hawthorne	$863,400	$1,782	28.3 min	82,741
195	Davis	$866,100	$2,187	22.3 min	66,110
196	San Marcos	$868,000	$2,348	26.5 min	94,908
197	Chino Hills	$874,900	$2,894	36.1 min	77,519
198	Petaluma	$878,600	$2,440	30.7 min	59,688
199	Moorpark	$894,300	$2,559	28.5 min	35,023
200	Claremont	$897,000	$2,237	27.0 min	35,838
201	Diamond Bar	$902,200	$2,521	33.3 min	51,884
202	Fullerton	$902,600	$2,194	30.5 min	138,675
203	San Diego	$906,700	$2,313	23.5 min	1,406,106
204	Monrovia	$909,400	$2,114	30.1 min	38,264
205	Cypress	$913,900	$2,483	28.9 min	48,781
206	Aliso Viejo	$917,900	$2,854	25.1 min	49,844
207	Placentia	$921,000	$2,388	26.6 min	54,911
208	Los Angeles	$921,200	$1,933	30.7 min	3,869,089
209	Brea	$922,300	$2,397	31.2 min	47,260
210	West Hollywood	$924,800	$2,091	27.1 min	34,231
211	Oakland	$929,900	$1,979	29.8 min	440,838
212	San Luis Obispo	$935,100	$1,965	16.1 min	50,636
213	Cerritos	$935,300	$2,930	32.4 min	46,367
214	Lake Forest	$937,000	$2,672	25.5 min	86,333
215	San Gabriel	$945,700	$1,915	28.4 min	38,186
216	Orange	$945,800	$2,327	25.8 min	138,365
217	Mountain House	$946,900	$3,500+	49.6 min	25,315
218	Tustin	$950,400	$2,449	22.8 min	77,843
219	Temple City	$961,800	$2,135	30.9 min	35,125
220	Rancho Santa Margarita	$971,200	$2,625	26.2 min	45,779
221	Thousand Oaks	$991,600	$2,664	24.6 min	122,230
222	San Juan Capistrano	$993,800	$2,438	26.5 min	35,119
223	Mission Viejo	$1,009,600	$2,839	26.6 min	90,484
224	Laguna Hills	$1,012,300	$2,728	27.4 min	30,020
225	Walnut	$1,014,000	$3,202	33.5 min	27,316
226	Gilroy	$1,027,400	$2,301	33.3 min	60,764
227	Novato	$1,032,500	$2,506	28.1 min	51,947
228	Poway	$1,034,800	$2,301	25.3 min	49,180
229	Walnut Creek	$1,057,300	$2,680	30.6 min	70,012
230	Goleta	$1,062,100	$2,437	17.8 min	32,401
231	Fountain Valley	$1,072,300	$2,631	26.0 min	55,508
232	Torrance	$1,074,700	$2,280	26.9 min	138,391
233	Monterey	$1,076,300	$2,353	18.5 min	28,953
234	Pleasant Hill	$1,077,100	$2,533	30.2 min	34,017
235	Burbank	$1,089,100	$2,192	26.0 min	102,988
236	Pasadena	$1,093,300	$2,265	26.9 min	135,804
237	Huntington Beach	$1,100,000	$2,510	28.4 min	191,451
238	Glendale	$1,102,300	$2,182	27.1 min	187,160
239	East Palo Alto	$1,102,600	$2,244	23.7 min	28,872
240	Union City	$1,104,900	$2,713	31.9 min	65,282
241	Livermore	$1,105,600	$2,677	30.1 min	83,457
242	Daly City	$1,115,000	$2,551	28.8 min	101,261
243	Costa Mesa	$1,115,100	$2,446	22.4 min	108,881
244	El Cerrito	$1,124,400	$2,548	33.3 min	26,121
245	Newark	$1,142,800	$2,776	30.6 min	47,895
246	Culver City	$1,142,900	$2,737	26.7 min	39,452
247	Yorba Linda	$1,147,100	$2,846	31.0 min	65,632
248	South San Francisco	$1,188,800	$2,802	25.6 min	64,941
249	Laguna Niguel	$1,190,900	$2,903	25.9 min	64,107
250	Irvine	$1,191,500	$2,997	24.7 min	318,764
251	San Bruno	$1,207,500	$2,773	23.7 min	42,305
252	Santa Cruz	$1,209,000	$2,452	22.8 min	61,797
253	Morgan Hill	$1,210,200	$2,474	33.5 min	45,625
254	San Jose	$1,233,200	$2,669	27.3 min	989,814
255	Alameda	$1,235,700	$2,474	31.6 min	76,876
256	Pacifica	$1,249,800	$3,098	27.2 min	36,890
257	Milpitas	$1,251,700	$3,120	25.8 min	78,596
258	Carlsbad	$1,257,000	$2,808	27.1 min	112,260
259	Redondo Beach	$1,279,200	$2,691	27.0 min	67,281
260	Dublin	$1,317,100	$3,191	35.9 min	71,602
261	Dana Point	$1,320,300	$3,106	30.0 min	32,232
262	San Rafael	$1,355,600	$2,377	25.3 min	59,410
263	San Francisco	$1,394,500	$2,476	30.4 min	826,079
264	San Clemente	$1,398,400	$2,460	28.6 min	62,226
265	Fremont	$1,403,800	$2,933	30.3 min	226,442
266	Berkeley	$1,413,900	$2,133	27.8 min	121,911
267	Arcadia	$1,441,800	$2,191	29.3 min	54,117
268	Calabasas	$1,504,500	$3,089	34.1 min	22,027
269	San Ramon	$1,509,500	$2,968	34.7 min	86,209
270	Pleasanton	$1,537,100	$3,060	34.3 min	74,556
271	Santa Barbara	$1,570,800	$2,413	17.3 min	86,422
272	Santa Clara	$1,582,600	$3,016	22.6 min	133,446
273	Rancho Palos Verdes	$1,609,400	$3,500+	32.8 min	39,654
274	Campbell	$1,617,000	$2,737	23.4 min	42,490
275	San Mateo	$1,618,700	$3,077	26.1 min	103,337
276	South Pasadena	$1,640,000	$2,284	29.9 min	25,503
277	Encinitas	$1,646,800	$2,886	24.7 min	60,736
278	Danville	$1,681,700	$3,500+	32.5 min	43,302
279	Santa Monica	$1,755,500	$2,402	24.8 min	90,082
280	Redwood City	$1,801,700	$2,968	24.3 min	82,178
281	Sunnyvale	$1,801,800	$3,039	23.0 min	156,577
282	Foster City	$1,838,200	$3,500+	29.4 min	32,411
283	Mountain View	$1,927,000	$3,062	23.3 min	85,438
284	Millbrae	$1,934,900	$3,272	28.6 min	22,869
285	Burlingame	$2,000,000+	$2,785	30.7 min	31,929
286	Beverly Hills	$2,000,000+	$2,830	25.1 min	30,764
287	San Carlos	$2,000,000+	$2,854	24.6 min	29,261
288	Belmont	$2,000,000+	$2,875	28.5 min	28,752
289	Lafayette	$2,000,000+	$2,892	29.3 min	25,313
290	Laguna Beach	$2,000,000+	$2,986	29.0 min	22,391
291	Menlo Park	$2,000,000+	$3,239	23.9 min	32,713
292	Los Gatos	$2,000,000+	$3,247	27.6 min	32,576
293	Coronado	$2,000,000+	$3,257	18.1 min	21,094
294	Newport Beach	$2,000,000+	$3,316	22.9 min	81,977
295	Manhattan Beach	$2,000,000+	$3,449	28.0 min	33,122
296	Palo Alto	$2,000,000+	$3,484	21.4 min	67,609
297	Cupertino	$2,000,000+	$3,500+	23.6 min	58,333
298	Los Altos	$2,000,000+	$3,500+	22.3 min	30,965
299	Saratoga	$2,000,000+	$3,500+	25.1 min	30,418

Home values are owner estimates averaged over 2020 to 2024 (American Community Survey 5-year), so they run below today's listing prices. Use them to compare places, not to price a home.

Questions people ask

What is the cheapest place to live in California?

Of the 299 California cities and towns with 20,000 or more people, Corcoran has the lowest median home value at $236,100, followed by Barstow ($245,000) and Ridgecrest ($253,900) (American Community Survey 2020-2024).

Where is rent cheapest in California?

Brawley, with a median gross rent of $988 a month including utilities.

What is the most expensive place to live in California?

Of the places we rank, Saratoga, with a median home value of $2,000,000+.

What taxes do you pay in California?

Income tax: 13.30% (top rate, 2026). Property tax: 0.72% of home value, statewide effective rate (Census ACS 2025). Sales tax: 8.99% combined state and average local (Tax Foundation 2026).

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