Cost of living in California

California at a glance

Median rent

$2,036

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$99,122

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$734,700

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$5,124

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

29 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

6.6%

Census ACS, DP03

California's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 11% above the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in California

These are the most populous places in California, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Los Angeles County

  Population

  9.81M

  Rent

  $1,954

  Household income

  $90,112

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $5,675

  Set as targetPlan

• San Diego County

  Population

  3.29M

  Rent

  $2,246

  Household income

  $106,268

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $5,774

  Set as targetPlan

• Orange County

  Population

  3.17M

  Rent

  $2,434

  Household income

  $116,289

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $6,330

  Set as targetPlan

California, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state. Spain paid little attention to California until 1769, then Mexico ceded the region to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Early in 1848 James Wilson Marshall found gold on the American River.

• Yosemite National Park

  Granite cliffs, waterfalls and giant sequoia groves in the Sierra Nevada.

• Redwood National and State Parks

  The world's tallest trees, with open prairies, oak woodlands, rivers and a long stretch of wild coastline.

• Manzanar National Historic Site

  One of ten camps where the US government incarcerated Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War II.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in California

Current owners in California pay a median 0.70% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $5,124 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $1,561 in Modoc County to $9,862 in San Francisco County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

A buyer in California should expect a higher bill than these: Prop 13 sets your tax value at the price you pay, then lets it rise at most 2% a year until the home sells again. Source: Sacramento County Assessor, Prop 13 and real property assessment.

Health in California

Life expectancy

79.4 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

7.5%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

17.9%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

63

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for California as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in California

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$30.2B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$3.43

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Earthquake

$14.9B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in California

Side by side

Los Angeles County, CA is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in California

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

1. 1Los Angeles County9.81M
2. 2San Diego County3.29M
3. 3Orange County3.17M
4. 4Riverside County2.48M
5. 5San Bernardino County2.2M
6. 6Santa Clara County1.9M
7. 7Alameda County1.65M
8. 8Sacramento County1.59M
9. 9Contra Costa County1.17M
10. 10Fresno County1.02M

All 58 counties in California

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: California next to your own state, by what you value.

• See California beside your own state

  Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

  Find your fit

• Pick a county here and make it your target

  The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

  See the three counties