California Average Home Price by City (2026)

The average home price in California (CA) is about $698,000 — the 2026 median, at ~$455/sq ft — 137% more expensive than the typical U.S. home.

$698,000

California median value

$455

Median price / sq ft

~1,530

sq ft a median budget buys

+137%

vs U.S. median

Shaded by price · click a city to explore. Colour = median home value.

Considering a move to California?

Housing in California is 137% more expensive than the national average, with a typical home around $698,000 and a local rate near $455 per square foot. Among the 91 California cities we track, Newport Beach is the most expensive (median $4,506,000) and Bakersfield is the most affordable (median $351,000) — so where you land in the state matters as much as the state itself.

Browse California cities

Newport Beach$4,506,000 Palo Alto$3,366,000 Beverly Hills$2,411,000 Mountain View$2,228,000 Santa Barbara$1,835,000 San Mateo$1,824,000 Redwood City$1,815,000 Sunnyvale$1,694,500 Santa Clara$1,575,000 Irvine$1,452,000 Santa Monica$1,447,000 Fremont$1,433,000 San Francisco$1,414,000 Huntington Beach$1,403,000 Santa Cruz$1,342,000 Carlsbad$1,340,000 San Jose$1,334,000 Berkeley$1,277,000 Burbank$1,209,000 Pasadena$1,159,000 Glendale$1,158,000 Orange$1,127,000 Novato$1,081,000 Walnut Creek$1,040,500 Fullerton$1,031,500 Thousand Oaks$1,023,000 Torrance$1,006,000 San Diego$999,000 Garden Grove$991,000 Anaheim$952,000 Downey$930,000 Los Angeles$929,000 Vista$913,000 Ventura$900,000 Rancho Cucamonga$898,000 Lakewood$874,000 Chula Vista$859,000 Hayward$854,500 Oceanside$844,500 Whittier$842,000 West Covina$841,000 El Cajon$838,000 Santa Ana$837,000 Santa Clarita$810,000 Escondido$810,000 Covina$809,000 Salinas$805,500 San Leandro$798,000 Oxnard$791,000 Long Beach$789,000 Corona$777,000 Temecula$774,000 Inglewood$754,000 Tracy$753,000 Concord$752,500 Santa Rosa$730,500 Pomona$686,000 Ontario$684,000 Roseville$672,000 Elk Grove$667,000 Oakland$665,000 Compton$648,000 Richmond$640,000 Riverside$639,000 Santa Maria$639,000 Fontana$612,000 Menifee$603,000 Moreno Valley$555,000 Vallejo$548,500 Woodland$521,000 Clovis$498,000 Rancho Cordova$486,000 Sacramento$477,000 Palmdale$475,000 Chico$461,000 San Bernardino$458,000 Hemet$452,000 Modesto$434,000 Victorville$433,000 Eureka$430,000 Lancaster$429,000 Merced$406,000 Madera$405,000 Murphys$402,000 Stockton$395,000 Visalia$391,500 Redding$390,000 Desert Hot Springs$377,000 Lake Arrowhead$370,000 Fresno$358,000 Bakersfield$351,000

See the cheapest (and most expensive) places to live in California.

Don’t see your city? Use the free Home Value Estimator for any U.S. ZIP, see the most expensive ZIP codes in America, or browse the full U.S. directory.

Salary needed to buy a home in California

To buy the typical $698,000 home in California with 20% down, you need a household income of roughly $190,000 a year (about $4,430 a month for the mortgage, taxes, and insurance). With 10% down the bar rises to about $226,000, because the loan is bigger and mortgage insurance kicks in.

Down payment	Cash down	Monthly payment	Income needed
5% (+PMI)	$34,900	$5,510/mo	$236,000/yr
10% (+PMI)	$69,800	$5,260/mo	$226,000/yr
20%	$139,600	$4,430/mo	$190,000/yr

Assumes a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.5%, property tax at 1.1% and insurance at 0.45% of value per year, PMI of 0.75% on loans with less than 20% down, and the standard 28% housing-to-income rule. Your rate, taxes, and HOA will move these — run your own numbers in the mortgage calculator.

What your budget buys in California

At about $455 per square foot, here is roughly how much home different budgets get you in California:

Budget	Approx. size	What that looks like locally
$400k	880 sq ft	below the local median — condos, smaller or older homes
$500k	1100 sq ft	below the local median — condos, smaller or older homes
$600k	1320 sq ft	around the typical home here
$750k	1650 sq ft	around the typical home here
$1.00M	2200 sq ft	above the median — larger homes or the pricier ZIPs

Wondering where that budget goes further? The relocation calculator ranks hundreds of U.S. cities by what the same money buys — it opens filtered to California so you can compare your current home against every California city we track.

California home prices: frequently asked

What salary do you need to buy a house in California? +

For the typical $698,000 home in California, a household income of about $190,000 a year covers the payment with 20% down (a 30-year fixed at 6.5%, plus taxes and insurance, under the 28% rule). With 10% down you need roughly $226,000; with 5% down about $236,000.

What is the average home price in California? +

The average home price in California is about $698,000 as of 2026, at roughly $455 per square foot — 137% more expensive than the U.S. median of $294,000. That figure is the statewide median across the ZIP codes we track, which is what most price reports mean by the average.

What is the median home price in California (CA)? +

About $698,000 in 2026. The median is the mid-point home — half of homes cost more, half less — and it is the better yardstick than a true mean, which a handful of luxury sales can drag upward. At $455/sq ft, a median budget in California buys roughly 1,530 sq ft of home.

Where is California most and least expensive? +

Among the 91 California cities tracked here, Newport Beach is the priciest (median $4,506,000) and Bakersfield is the most affordable (median $351,000). ZIP-level prices within one city vary further, so check the city page for your area.