Key findings
- The median California ZIP code costs 6.7 years of median household income. Across the 1,558 ZIP codes with published Census housing data, the median home value is $601,700 against a median household income of $86,990. Only 33 ZIPs sit at or under the 3.0 ratio that has been the long-run U.S. norm; 386 are between 8 and 12 and 108 are above 12.
- California is two housing markets. The 203 ZIPs of the San Joaquin Valley have a median ratio of 4.8 on a $305,300 median home; the 272 Bay Area ZIPs have a median ratio of 8.2 on a $1,109,000 median home, and Los Angeles and Orange counties together sit at 8.7. 352 ZIPs statewide have a ratio of 5 or under; 315 of them are in the Valley, the North State, the Inland Empire or the Sacramento region, and only 7 are in the Bay Area.
- Education predicts home value better than income does. Across ZIPs of 5,000+ residents, the bachelor's-degree rate correlates with median home value at r = 0.85, stronger than median income itself (r = 0.79). Degree rates run from 2% in 92254 (Mecca, Riverside County) to 88% in 94022 (Los Altos).
- 52 ZIP codes have a median home value the Census cannot measure. The ACS top-codes median home value at $2,000,001. 29 of the capped ZIPs are in the Bay Area (San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties), 12 in coastal Los Angeles County and 7 on the Orange County coast. 10 ZIPs also hit the $250,001 income cap, all but one of them in the Bay Area.
- Rent burden is concentrated, not universal. 174 of the 1,448 ZIPs with rent data have a median rent above 30% of median household income; 22 are above 40% and 4 above 50%. 154 of the 174 burdened ZIPs have incomes below the state ZIP median: rent burden tracks poverty (r = 0.56) far more than it tracks the price of apartments.
- Where a median income still buys the median home: 9 ZIPs of 10,000+ residents pass our value screen (ratio at or under 4, majority owner-occupied, poverty at or below the state median). 4 are in Kern County (93313, 93311, 93312, 93314), 2 in Madera County, and one each in Fresno, Sacramento and Santa Clara counties.
How this report was built
Every figure is computed from the dataset behind the 2,710 ZIP code pages on this site: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level for population, density, median household income, median home value (owner-occupied units), median gross rent, tenure, poverty rate, bachelor's-degree attainment and unemployment. 1,152 ZIP codes are excluded because the ACS reports no resident population, income or home value for them: 946 are PO Box or unique ZIPs with no delivery territory, and the rest are standard ZIPs covering campuses, bases, hospitals or business parks where household medians are suppressed. That leaves 1,558 ZIP codes covering 39.2 million residents.
Price-to-income (PTI) is median home value divided by median household income. 3.0 is the long-run U.S. norm; the Demographia International Housing Affordability survey calls anything above 5.0 "severely unaffordable", and California's coastal metros have ranked among the least affordable in the English-speaking world on this measure for two decades. Because the ACS top-codes home value at $2,000,001 and income at $250,001, ratios for capped ZIPs are floors and are marked with a plus sign. Rent-to-income (RTI) is annualized median gross rent divided by median household income; above 30% is "cost-burdened" and above 50% "severely cost-burdened" under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development definitions. Both are area-level indicators built from ZIP-level medians. Statewide, regional and county medians weight each ZIP equally. Correlations are Pearson r across the 1,118 ZIPs with at least 5,000 residents, and the named-ZIP rankings below use the same population floor so that a mountain ZIP of 400 people does not lead a statewide table on a wide margin of error. Regions are groups of whole counties, listed in the county table. Sources, formulas and limitations are documented in full on the methodology page.
Two Californias: the regional split
Statewide medians hide the shape of the problem. Sorted by price-to-income, the state's eight regions fall into two groups with almost nothing between them. The San Joaquin Valley (4.8), Inland Empire (5.3), Sacramento region (5.4) and North State and Sierra (5.4) all sit between 4.8 and 5.4, expensive by national standards but within reach of a two-income household. San Diego and Imperial (7.2), the Central Coast (7.5), the Bay Area (8.2) and Los Angeles and Orange (8.7) start at 7.2 and climb. The jump from 5.4 to 7.2 is the coast range.
The Bay Area is the most expensive region in absolute terms: its median ZIP has a $1,109,000 home and a $129,552 household income, both the highest of any region by a wide margin, and 53% of adults hold a bachelor's degree against 15% in the Valley. But Los Angeles and Orange counties are the least affordable region by ratio, because their $93,416 median income is closer to the Valley's than to the Bay's while their $799,050 median home is not. Los Angeles County alone has 275 ZIPs at a median ratio of 9.2; 108 of them are above 10 and only 10 are at 5 or under. Owner-occupancy tells the same story from the other side: 52% in the median LA-Orange ZIP, the lowest of any region, against 73% in the North State and 70% around Sacramento.
| Region | ZIPs | Residents | Median household income | Median home value | Median PTI | Median rent-to-income | Owner-occupied | Bachelor's or higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Joaquin Valley | 203 | 4,258,887 | $64,000 | $305,300 | 4.8 | 22.9% | 59% | 15% |
| Inland Empire | 143 | 4,584,867 | $73,860 | $421,900 | 5.3 | 24.5% | 68% | 20% |
| Sacramento Metro | 125 | 2,570,711 | $91,481 | $495,300 | 5.4 | 21.4% | 70% | 33% |
| North State & Sierra | 234 | 1,227,598 | $62,603 | $349,700 | 5.4 | 22.4% | 73% | 21% |
| San Diego & Imperial | 106 | 3,460,650 | $95,746 | $677,500 | 7.2 | 25.1% | 62% | 35% |
| Central Coast | 113 | 2,331,185 | $100,074 | $746,100 | 7.5 | 24.2% | 64% | 39% |
| Bay Area | 272 | 7,677,925 | $129,552 | $1,109,000 | 8.2 | 22.0% | 64% | 53% |
| Los Angeles & Orange | 362 | 13,068,557 | $93,416 | $799,050 | 8.7 | 25.8% | 52% | 40% |
Price-to-income by ZIP: 108 above 12, 33 at or under 3
The distribution is long-tailed toward the expensive end. 319 ZIPs sit between 3 and 5, 712 between 5 and 8, 386 between 8 and 12 and 108 above 12. The 33 ZIPs at or under the 3.0 national norm are a rounding error in a state of 1,558.
Three kinds of ZIP fill the top of the table, and only one of them is what "least affordable" usually means. The first is the campus and downtown special case: 90013 (Downtown Los Angeles and Skid Row) posts the state's highest ratio at 30.4 because 14,587 residents with a median income of $24,853 live among loft conversions valued at $755,100; 94305 (Stanford campus, 27.6+), 90014 (Downtown LA, 24.6), 90007 (USC, 21.7), 90024 (Westwood and UCLA, 19.4) and 94704 (UC Berkeley, 18.9) follow for the same reason: student and very-low-income populations that do not describe the buyer pool. These are excluded from the ranked table below and flagged in the limitations. The second kind is the dense rental belt of central Los Angeles: Koreatown (90004, 22.1; 90005, 20.7), the Miracle Mile (90036, 19.2), East Hollywood (90029), Los Feliz (90027) and Hollywood (90038), where median incomes of $49,226–$58,420 meet home values of $1,020,300 and up and owner-occupancy under 16%. The third is the prestige coast: Beverly Hills (90212, 90211), Santa Monica (90401), Venice (90291) and the San Francisco waterfront and Nob Hill (94133, 94108), where incomes are among the state's highest and values are higher still. Downtown Stockton (95202) is the one Valley ZIP in the top 20, at 18.0 on the state's lowest median income of $19,942.
The most attainable end of the table needs its own caveat. 3 of the 15 lowest ratios belong to ZIPs where fewer than half of households own their home, and the very lowest, 95134 (North San Jose, 2.1), is a 13%-owner apartment district whose $380,900 "median home" describes a small stock of condominiums and manufactured homes next to a $182,920 median income. 94089 (Sunnyvale, 2.6) is similar: 53% owners and large mobile-home parks. The genuinely attainable ZIPs are the desert and Valley cities: 92241 (Desert Hot Springs, 2.3, 84% owners), 93555 (Ridgecrest, 2.7), 92311 (Barstow, 3.0), and the three southwest Bakersfield ZIPs 93313, 93311 and 93312 at 3.3–3.4 on incomes of $96,149–$113,616, which is the closest thing California has to a conventional middle-class housing market.
The 15 least affordable ZIP codes by price-to-income (5,000+ residents, campus and downtown ZIPs excluded)
| ZIP | City | County | Median home value | Median household income | PTI | Owner-occupied | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90004 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,289,600 | $58,420 | 22.1 | 16% | 19% |
| 90005 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,020,300 | $49,226 | 20.7 | 8% | 24% |
| 90212 | Beverly Hills | Los Angeles | $2,000,000+ | $101,963 | 19.6+ | 22% | 10% |
| 90401 | Santa Monica | Los Angeles | $1,743,800 | $89,892 | 19.4 | 6% | 19% |
| 90036 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,869,500 | $97,583 | 19.2 | 15% | 11% |
| 94133 | San Francisco | San Francisco | $1,472,600 | $77,652 | 19.0 | 18% | 17% |
| 94108 | San Francisco | San Francisco | $1,295,700 | $68,768 | 18.8 | 10% | 19% |
| 90029 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,032,300 | $56,529 | 18.3 | 12% | 22% |
| 90027 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,578,200 | $86,826 | 18.2 | 21% | 14% |
| 95202 | Stockton | San Joaquin | $358,200 | $19,942 | 18.0 | 4% | 38% |
| 90291 | Venice | Los Angeles | $2,000,000+ | $111,610 | 17.9+ | 36% | 10% |
| 90038 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,020,800 | $57,102 | 17.9 | 8% | 19% |
| 90068 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,724,100 | $97,151 | 17.7 | 46% | 10% |
| 90019 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,151,500 | $65,972 | 17.5 | 25% | 17% |
| 90211 | Beverly Hills | Los Angeles | $2,000,000+ | $115,025 | 17.4+ | 40% | 11% |
The 15 most attainable ZIP codes by price-to-income (5,000+ residents)
| ZIP | City | County | Median home value | Median household income | PTI | Owner-occupied | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95134 | San Jose | Santa Clara | $380,900 | $182,920 | 2.1 | 13% | 6% |
| 92241 | Desert Hot Springs | Riverside | $96,800 | $42,771 | 2.3 | 84% | 17% |
| 94089 | Sunnyvale | Santa Clara | $382,500 | $149,270 | 2.6 | 53% | 6% |
| 93555 | Ridgecrest | Kern | $222,800 | $81,824 | 2.7 | 63% | 12% |
| 92311 | Barstow | San Bernardino | $172,300 | $57,687 | 3.0 | 47% | 21% |
| 93501 | Mojave | Kern | $145,000 | $47,351 | 3.1 | 46% | 28% |
| 92342 | Helendale | San Bernardino | $322,800 | $99,250 | 3.3 | 87% | 6% |
| 93313 | Bakersfield | Kern | $320,200 | $96,149 | 3.3 | 80% | 10% |
| 93210 | Coalinga | Fresno | $230,300 | $68,152 | 3.4 | 52% | 19% |
| 93311 | Bakersfield | Kern | $385,200 | $113,616 | 3.4 | 71% | 8% |
| 96130 | Susanville | Lassen | $229,700 | $66,725 | 3.4 | 65% | 14% |
| 93312 | Bakersfield | Kern | $382,800 | $111,084 | 3.4 | 79% | 9% |
| 92251 | Imperial | Imperial | $313,600 | $90,632 | 3.5 | 68% | 13% |
| 92363 | Needles | San Bernardino | $136,800 | $39,155 | 3.5 | 59% | 28% |
| 92225 | Blythe | Riverside | $186,500 | $52,088 | 3.6 | 59% | 23% |
Rent burden: 174 ZIP codes past the 30% line
The median California ZIP's rent of $1,764 a month takes 23.9% of median household income, comfortably under the 30% threshold, and that is true in every region: regional medians run from 21.4% to 25.8%. Rent burden at the ZIP median is therefore a minority condition, 174 of 1,448 ZIPs, but it is a sharply defined one. 154 of the 174 burdened ZIPs have a median income below the state's $86,990 ZIP median; the relationship with poverty is r = 0.56. The four ZIPs above 50%, the HUD line for "severely cost-burdened", are 90014 (64.4%) and 90013 (52.7%) in Downtown Los Angeles and two small ZIPs elsewhere, and the rest of the top of the list is campuses (94704 Berkeley, 93405 San Luis Obispo, 90007 USC, 90024 Westwood), Downtown Stockton (95202, 49.9% on a $830 rent) and Laguna Woods (92637, 45.0%), a retirement community where fixed incomes meet Orange County rents.
What the list is not is a roster of the state's most expensive apartments. Median rents in the burdened ZIPs run from $756 to $3,501; the Bay Area, with the state's highest rents, has the lowest regional rent-to-income ratio (22.0%) because its incomes are higher still. Rent burden in California is a Valley, Inland Empire and central-Los Angeles story about incomes, not a coastal story about rents.
Highest rent-to-income ratios (5,000+ residents)
| ZIP | City | County | Median rent | Median household income | Rent-to-income | Poverty rate | Owner-occupied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90014 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,424 | $26,550 | 64.4% | 36% | 4% |
| 90013 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,092 | $24,853 | 52.7% | 46% | 8% |
| 95202 | Stockton | San Joaquin | $830 | $19,942 | 49.9% | 38% | 4% |
| 94704 | Berkeley | Alameda | $2,058 | $51,696 | 47.8% | 48% | 12% |
| 93405 | San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo | $1,904 | $48,388 | 47.2% | 46% | 33% |
| 90007 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,396 | $36,326 | 46.1% | 37% | 11% |
| 92637 | Laguna Hills | Orange | $2,136 | $56,928 | 45.0% | 11% | 69% |
| 90015 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $2,287 | $61,959 | 44.3% | 26% | 9% |
| 92058 | Oceanside | San Diego | $2,471 | $68,576 | 43.2% | 11% | 29% |
| 93240 | Lake Isabella | Kern | $1,018 | $28,909 | 42.3% | 28% | 70% |
| 90024 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $2,618 | $74,852 | 42.0% | 27% | 33% |
| 90012 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $2,044 | $58,444 | 42.0% | 24% | 6% |
| 93721 | Fresno | Fresno | $899 | $26,019 | 41.5% | 32% | 8% |
| 91020 | Montrose | Los Angeles | $2,056 | $61,771 | 39.9% | 16% | 25% |
| 90017 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,493 | $46,626 | 38.4% | 36% | 5% |
| 90005 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $1,572 | $49,226 | 38.3% | 24% | 8% |
| 92545 | Hemet | Riverside | $1,761 | $56,193 | 37.6% | 11% | 70% |
| 91203 | Glendale | Los Angeles | $2,209 | $70,650 | 37.5% | 18% | 20% |
| 91205 | Glendale | Los Angeles | $1,815 | $58,290 | 37.4% | 20% | 16% |
| 90740 | Seal Beach | Orange | $2,305 | $75,007 | 36.9% | 6% | 76% |
Education, income and what actually predicts home value
The single strongest relationship in this dataset is between the share of adults with a bachelor's degree and median home value: r = 0.85 across ZIPs of 5,000+ residents. That is stronger than the correlation between income and home value (0.79), which means that two ZIPs with the same median income will usually have very different home values if their degree rates differ, and the one with more graduates will be the expensive one. Degree rate also correlates with income at 0.79 and, weakly, with the ratio itself (0.43): educated ZIPs are not only richer, they are richer and less affordable, because their housing is bid up faster than their incomes rise.
The spread is enormous. Bachelor's attainment runs from 2% in 92254 (Mecca, Riverside County), 2% in 92233 (Calipatria) and 2% in 93241 (Lamont), all farm towns in the Coachella, Imperial and San Joaquin valleys, to 88% in 94022 (Los Altos) and 86% in 94563 (Orinda). Median household income runs from $19,942 in 95202 (Downtown Stockton) and $26,019 in 93721 (Downtown Fresno) to the $250,001 Census ceiling in 10 ZIPs: Los Altos (94022, 94024), Atherton (94027), Alamo (94507), Diablo (94528), Orinda (94563), Ross (94957), La Honda (94020), the San Francisco Financial District (94105) and, on a very small sample, Branscomb in Mendocino County. Poverty runs the other way against income at r = -0.73, and the highest poverty rates outside campus ZIPs are in the Valley farm towns: 93646 (Orange Cove, 44%), 93622 (Firebaugh, 42%) and Downtown Bakersfield (93301, 40%).
Density and ownership frame the ratio from the other side. Denser ZIPs are less affordable (r = 0.57 with PTI) and majority-owner ZIPs are more affordable (r = -0.57); 1,166 of the 1,558 ZIPs are majority owner-occupied, and the median owner share is 64%.
Highest bachelor's-degree rates (5,000+ residents)
| ZIP | City | County | Bachelor's or higher | Median household income | Median home value | PTI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94305 | Stanford | Santa Clara | 92% | $72,500 | $2,000,000+ | 27.6+ |
| 94022 | Los Altos | Santa Clara | 88% | $250,000+ | $2,000,000+ | 8.0+ |
| 94123 | San Francisco | San Francisco | 86% | $211,854 | $2,000,000+ | 9.4+ |
| 94563 | Orinda | Contra Costa | 86% | $250,000+ | $1,739,600 | 7.0 |
| 94708 | Berkeley | Contra Costa | 86% | $218,950 | $1,445,200 | 6.6 |
| 94027 | Atherton | San Mateo | 86% | $250,000+ | $2,000,000+ | 8.0+ |
| 94618 | Oakland | Alameda | 86% | $202,297 | $1,679,300 | 8.3 |
| 94707 | Berkeley | Alameda | 86% | $186,579 | $1,555,600 | 8.3 |
| 92617 | Irvine | Orange | 85% | $67,056 | $691,900 | 10.3 |
| 94024 | Los Altos | Santa Clara | 85% | $250,000+ | $2,000,000+ | 8.0+ |
Lowest bachelor's-degree rates (5,000+ residents)
| ZIP | City | County | Bachelor's or higher | Median household income | Median home value | PTI | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92254 | Mecca | Riverside | 2% | $38,103 | $177,500 | 4.7 | 17% |
| 92233 | Calipatria | Imperial | 2% | $46,553 | $191,100 | 4.1 | 27% |
| 93241 | Lamont | Kern | 2% | $33,121 | $175,900 | 5.3 | 36% |
| 93219 | Earlimart | Tulare | 3% | $46,707 | $211,100 | 4.5 | 17% |
| 93234 | Huron | Fresno | 4% | $43,879 | $234,500 | 5.3 | 32% |
| 92274 | Thermal | Riverside | 4% | $30,489 | $128,800 | 4.2 | 22% |
| 93256 | Pixley | Tulare | 4% | $51,652 | $199,200 | 3.9 | 18% |
| 93203 | Arvin | Kern | 4% | $47,991 | $229,300 | 4.8 | 28% |
| 93212 | Corcoran | Kings | 4% | $51,890 | $209,800 | 4.0 | 28% |
| 93250 | Mc Farland | Kern | 4% | $42,587 | $234,700 | 5.5 | 25% |
The $2,000,001 ceiling: 52 ZIP codes the Census cannot price
The ACS caps reported median home value at $2,000,001. 52 California ZIPs sit at that cap, which means their real medians, and therefore their real ratios, are higher than anything shown here. 21 are on the Peninsula and in the South Bay (San Mateo and Santa Clara counties: Atherton, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale 94087, Burlingame, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City 94062, San Mateo 94402 and Stanford), 4 in Marin (Belvedere-Tiburon, Ross, Larkspur, Nicasio), 2 in San Francisco (the Marina and Financial District), 2 in Contra Costa (Alamo, Diablo), 12 on the Los Angeles County coast and hills (Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Santa Monica 90402, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Venice, San Marino), 7 on the Orange County coast (Newport Beach and Newport Coast, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Surfside), 2 in San Diego County (Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe) and one each in Montecito (Santa Barbara County) and, on a tiny sample, Crescent Mills in Plumas County. Every capped ZIP outside the Bay Area except San Marino is on or within a few miles of the ocean. Their floor ratios run from 8+ to 800+; the median household income in the capped ZIPs is $191,049.
| ZIP | City | County | Median household income | PTI (floor) | Owner-occupied | Bachelor's or higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94507 | Alamo | Contra Costa | $250,000+ | 8.0+ | 92% | 76% |
| 94528 | Diablo | Contra Costa | $250,000+ | 8.0+ | 100% | 73% |
| 90049 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $161,605 | 12.4+ | 54% | 80% |
| 90077 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | $203,194 | 9.8+ | 85% | 76% |
| 90210 | Beverly Hills | Los Angeles | $172,285 | 11.6+ | 74% | 66% |
| 90211 | Beverly Hills | Los Angeles | $115,025 | 17.4+ | 40% | 60% |
| 90212 | Beverly Hills | Los Angeles | $101,963 | 19.6+ | 22% | 70% |
| 90265 | Malibu | Los Angeles | $186,264 | 10.7+ | 79% | 70% |
| 90266 | Manhattan Beach | Los Angeles | $187,217 | 10.7+ | 70% | 78% |
| 90272 | Pacific Palisades | Los Angeles | $225,256 | 8.9+ | 78% | 78% |
| 90274 | Palos Verdes Peninsula | Los Angeles | $206,013 | 9.7+ | 89% | 77% |
| 90291 | Venice | Los Angeles | $111,610 | 17.9+ | 36% | 69% |
| 90402 | Santa Monica | Los Angeles | $171,844 | 11.6+ | 74% | 79% |
| 91108 | San Marino | Los Angeles | $173,312 | 11.5+ | 82% | 80% |
| 94920 | Belvedere Tiburon | Marin | $216,096 | 9.3+ | 70% | 79% |
| 94939 | Larkspur | Marin | $156,250 | 12.8+ | 48% | 76% |
| 94946 | Nicasio | Marin | $125,179 | 16.0+ | 76% | 54% |
| 94957 | Ross | Marin | $250,000+ | 8.0+ | 82% | 82% |
| 90743 | Surfside | Orange | $162,391 | 12.3+ | 68% | 70% |
| 92625 | Corona Del Mar | Orange | $174,570 | 11.5+ | 58% | 71% |
| 92651 | Laguna Beach | Orange | $148,381 | 13.5+ | 68% | 66% |
| 92657 | Newport Coast | Orange | $194,881 | 10.3+ | 73% | 82% |
| 92660 | Newport Beach | Orange | $152,700 | 13.1+ | 50% | 70% |
| 92661 | Newport Beach | Orange | $197,344 | 10.1+ | 38% | 58% |
| 92662 | Newport Beach | Orange | $157,128 | 12.7+ | 58% | 63% |
| 95934 | Crescent Mills | Plumas | $2,499 | 800.3+ | 100% | 39% |
| 92014 | Del Mar | San Diego | $203,520 | 9.8+ | 72% | 83% |
| 92067 | Rancho Santa Fe | San Diego | $245,427 | 8.1+ | 91% | 73% |
| 94104 | San Francisco | San Francisco | $47,386 | 42.2+ | 24% | 40% |
| 94123 | San Francisco | San Francisco | $211,854 | 9.4+ | 28% | 86% |
| 94002 | Belmont | San Mateo | $184,929 | 10.8+ | 57% | 68% |
| 94010 | Burlingame | San Mateo | $186,198 | 10.7+ | 62% | 69% |
| 94025 | Menlo Park | San Mateo | $207,656 | 9.6+ | 60% | 72% |
| 94027 | Atherton | San Mateo | $250,000+ | 8.0+ | 86% | 86% |
| 94028 | Portola Valley | San Mateo | $243,516 | 8.2+ | 83% | 78% |
| 94062 | Redwood City | San Mateo | $230,391 | 8.7+ | 72% | 67% |
| 94070 | San Carlos | San Mateo | $220,323 | 9.1+ | 70% | 67% |
| 94402 | San Mateo | San Mateo | $184,453 | 10.8+ | 63% | 69% |
| 93108 | Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | $215,126 | 9.3+ | 74% | 74% |
| 94022 | Los Altos | Santa Clara | $250,000+ | 8.0+ | 82% | 88% |
| 94024 | Los Altos | Santa Clara | $250,000+ | 8.0+ | 88% | 85% |
| 94040 | Mountain View | Santa Clara | $175,147 | 11.4+ | 38% | 78% |
| 94041 | Mountain View | Santa Clara | $169,479 | 11.8+ | 32% | 73% |
| 94087 | Sunnyvale | Santa Clara | $196,611 | 10.2+ | 57% | 75% |
| 94301 | Palo Alto | Santa Clara | $217,611 | 9.2+ | 55% | 81% |
| 94304 | Palo Alto | Santa Clara | $159,637 | 12.5+ | 22% | 81% |
| 94305 | Stanford | Santa Clara | $72,500 | 27.6+ | 27% | 92% |
| 94306 | Palo Alto | Santa Clara | $199,800 | 10.0+ | 55% | 82% |
| 95014 | Cupertino | Santa Clara | $222,878 | 9.0+ | 59% | 83% |
| 95030 | Los Gatos | Santa Clara | $242,500 | 8.2+ | 78% | 80% |
| 95032 | Los Gatos | Santa Clara | $185,822 | 10.8+ | 64% | 74% |
| 95070 | Saratoga | Santa Clara | $237,455 | 8.4+ | 87% | 80% |
All 58 counties, ranked by affordability
Every California county has at least three ZIPs with housing data, so the county table is a complete map. 16 counties have a median ratio of 5.0 or under, and they are the interior: Modoc, Kern, Kings, Lassen, Alpine, Inyo and 10 more; Del Norte, on the Oregon border, is the only one that touches the Pacific. 9 counties are at 8.0 or above, led by San Francisco (9.6), Los Angeles (9.2) and San Mateo (9.0); 4 of the 9 are Bay Area counties and the rest are coastal. Mendocino is the outlier: a 8.7 ratio on a $61,576 median income, because Mendocino coast and wine-country home values have detached from a rural income base. Los Angeles County, with 275 ZIPs and a third of the state's population, ranks 57 of 58.
| County | Region | ZIPs | Residents | Median household income | Median home value | Median PTI | Median rent-to-income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modoc | North State & Sierra | 5 | 8,851 | $49,327 | $173,000 | 3.4 | 17.8% |
| Kern | San Joaquin Valley | 39 | 894,120 | $53,480 | $226,500 | 4.0 | 24.2% |
| Kings | San Joaquin Valley | 7 | 150,257 | $56,118 | $219,700 | 4.0 | 23.3% |
| Lassen | North State & Sierra | 10 | 33,837 | $61,632 | $239,850 | 4.1 | 25.4% |
| Alpine | North State & Sierra | 3 | 3,928 | $97,574 | $465,900 | 4.2 | 12.5% |
| Inyo | North State & Sierra | 5 | 5,122 | $61,761 | $238,800 | 4.3 | 22.3% |
| Tulare | San Joaquin Valley | 31 | 497,542 | $54,583 | $244,500 | 4.5 | 22.4% |
| Del Norte | North State & Sierra | 4 | 27,086 | $61,378 | $276,950 | 4.5 | 23.4% |
| Imperial | San Diego & Imperial | 12 | 173,699 | $52,456 | $224,300 | 4.6 | 20.7% |
| Shasta | North State & Sierra | 22 | 174,059 | $64,068 | $322,200 | 4.6 | 20.4% |
| Siskiyou | North State & Sierra | 17 | 42,585 | $54,250 | $237,000 | 4.6 | 22.5% |
| Tehama | North State & Sierra | 10 | 70,993 | $63,264 | $280,900 | 4.7 | 23.8% |
| Madera | San Joaquin Valley | 13 | 159,088 | $74,538 | $346,500 | 4.7 | 18.2% |
| Plumas | North State & Sierra | 9 | 16,391 | $66,875 | $304,300 | 4.8 | 19.3% |
| Fresno | San Joaquin Valley | 44 | 972,437 | $57,383 | $288,450 | 4.8 | 23.2% |
| Calaveras | North State & Sierra | 12 | 41,872 | $85,243 | $396,500 | 4.8 | 23.7% |
| El Dorado | Sacramento Metro | 18 | 190,883 | $84,588 | $490,600 | 5.0 | 20.5% |
| Yuba | Sacramento Metro | 9 | 80,675 | $73,090 | $368,200 | 5.0 | 21.5% |
| Sutter | Sacramento Metro | 8 | 98,393 | $77,792 | $379,250 | 5.1 | 18.0% |
| Sierra | North State & Sierra | 5 | 2,850 | $74,917 | $367,900 | 5.1 | 22.1% |
| Glenn | North State & Sierra | 7 | 29,278 | $64,750 | $295,800 | 5.1 | 18.2% |
| Lake | North State & Sierra | 12 | 67,487 | $66,944 | $330,700 | 5.2 | 28.4% |
| Stanislaus | San Joaquin Valley | 23 | 553,845 | $80,266 | $408,100 | 5.2 | 23.9% |
| Merced | San Joaquin Valley | 18 | 279,746 | $63,680 | $337,300 | 5.2 | 21.3% |
| Riverside | Inland Empire | 67 | 2,431,423 | $83,139 | $448,000 | 5.2 | 24.5% |
| Sacramento | Sacramento Metro | 51 | 1,574,596 | $83,933 | $470,200 | 5.3 | 23.1% |
| San Bernardino | Inland Empire | 76 | 2,153,444 | $71,552 | $378,000 | 5.3 | 24.5% |
| Butte | North State & Sierra | 15 | 212,728 | $63,187 | $321,900 | 5.3 | 23.6% |
| Yolo | Sacramento Metro | 12 | 216,404 | $98,655 | $490,900 | 5.3 | 21.1% |
| Tuolumne | North State & Sierra | 9 | 55,570 | $69,751 | $373,500 | 5.3 | 20.9% |
| Mono | North State & Sierra | 7 | 26,268 | $86,216 | $394,700 | 5.4 | 22.3% |
| Amador | North State & Sierra | 9 | 40,062 | $78,143 | $427,000 | 5.4 | 17.1% |
| Solano | Bay Area | 12 | 445,805 | $99,622 | $547,950 | 5.5 | 23.8% |
| Colusa | North State & Sierra | 6 | 21,454 | $70,198 | $354,500 | 5.6 | 18.5% |
| San Joaquin | San Joaquin Valley | 28 | 751,852 | $85,098 | $475,900 | 5.7 | 23.8% |
| Mariposa | North State & Sierra | 5 | 14,118 | $58,042 | $345,200 | 5.7 | 22.2% |
| Placer | Sacramento Metro | 27 | 409,760 | $105,789 | $625,400 | 5.9 | 18.2% |
| Trinity | North State & Sierra | 9 | 15,124 | $49,842 | $321,100 | 6.4 | 23.3% |
| Ventura | Central Coast | 26 | 852,335 | $102,460 | $700,650 | 6.5 | 25.5% |
| Monterey | Central Coast | 27 | 427,890 | $84,669 | $621,200 | 6.8 | 24.9% |
| Contra Costa | Bay Area | 40 | 1,167,290 | $120,564 | $766,500 | 6.8 | 22.6% |
| Napa | Bay Area | 8 | 130,650 | $111,716 | $783,400 | 7.1 | 23.1% |
| Humboldt | North State & Sierra | 26 | 132,166 | $60,178 | $407,900 | 7.2 | 23.2% |
| San Benito | Central Coast | 4 | 62,665 | $108,228 | $830,800 | 7.2 | 21.1% |
| Nevada | North State & Sierra | 6 | 96,687 | $78,314 | $535,600 | 7.3 | 24.4% |
| San Diego | San Diego & Imperial | 94 | 3,286,951 | $98,033 | $708,250 | 7.4 | 25.2% |
| Orange | Los Angeles & Orange | 87 | 3,147,661 | $116,618 | $888,200 | 7.9 | 24.4% |
| Sonoma | Bay Area | 30 | 461,385 | $100,331 | $764,350 | 7.9 | 24.1% |
| Alameda | Bay Area | 47 | 1,675,325 | $125,410 | $1,061,400 | 7.9 | 23.0% |
| San Luis Obispo | Central Coast | 19 | 267,364 | $89,889 | $808,200 | 8.0 | 23.5% |
| Santa Cruz | Central Coast | 17 | 285,652 | $109,778 | $964,200 | 8.2 | 24.6% |
| Santa Barbara | Central Coast | 20 | 435,279 | $107,220 | $966,350 | 8.3 | 23.8% |
| Santa Clara | Bay Area | 56 | 1,938,019 | $159,101 | $1,338,250 | 8.6 | 21.1% |
| Mendocino | North State & Sierra | 21 | 89,082 | $61,576 | $546,600 | 8.7 | 23.6% |
| Marin | Bay Area | 26 | 290,797 | $127,509 | $1,308,450 | 8.9 | 21.9% |
| San Mateo | Bay Area | 28 | 724,706 | $161,446 | $1,429,950 | 9.0 | 21.9% |
| Los Angeles | Los Angeles & Orange | 275 | 9,920,896 | $87,339 | $751,400 | 9.2 | 26.1% |
| San Francisco | Bay Area | 25 | 843,948 | $145,931 | $1,446,800 | 9.6 | 19.9% |
The value screen: 9 ZIP codes
The screen asks a plain question: where in California can a household earning the local median income buy the local median home on conventional terms, in a place with a real population and a real ownership market? Conditions: at least 10,000 residents, a price-to-income ratio at or under 4, at least half of households owner-occupied, and a poverty rate at or below the state ZIP median of 10.8%. 9 ZIP codes pass. 4 are Bakersfield and its Kern County suburbs (93313 Bakersfield, 93311 Bakersfield, 93312 Bakersfield, 93314 Shafter), 2 are in Madera County (93636 Madera, 93614 Coarsegold), and one each is in Clovis (93611), Rancho Cordova (95742) and Sunnyvale (94089, the mobile-home-park ZIP noted above, which passes the numbers but is not a conventional single-family market). Their median ratio is 3.7, their median income $113,672 and their median home value $385,200. Loosen the ratio to 5 and the list grows to 54 ZIPs, still overwhelmingly in the Valley, the Inland Empire and the Sacramento suburbs; restrict the ratio-5 list to the Bay Area and Los Angeles-Orange and it holds 4 ZIPs, 94089 Sunnyvale, 95391 Tracy, 93551 Palmdale, 91350 Santa Clarita: the mobile-home ZIP, the Mountain House tract at the Bay Area's eastern edge, and the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys at the far edge of Los Angeles County.
| ZIP | City | County | Population | Median home value | Median household income | PTI | Owner-occupied | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94089 | Sunnyvale | Santa Clara | 23,447 | $382,500 | $149,270 | 2.6 | 53% | 6% |
| 93313 | Bakersfield | Kern | 59,924 | $320,200 | $96,149 | 3.3 | 80% | 10% |
| 93311 | Bakersfield | Kern | 50,535 | $385,200 | $113,616 | 3.4 | 71% | 8% |
| 93312 | Bakersfield | Kern | 59,616 | $382,800 | $111,084 | 3.4 | 79% | 9% |
| 93611 | Clovis | Fresno | 46,620 | $426,100 | $113,672 | 3.7 | 76% | 5% |
| 93314 | Shafter | Kern | 34,156 | $468,900 | $124,885 | 3.8 | 84% | 7% |
| 93636 | Madera | Madera | 13,447 | $450,900 | $119,375 | 3.8 | 90% | 8% |
| 93614 | Coarsegold | Madera | 11,760 | $346,500 | $90,838 | 3.8 | 90% | 7% |
| 95742 | Rancho Cordova | Sacramento | 14,883 | $589,400 | $149,613 | 3.9 | 87% | 4% |
Limitations and how to cite this report
- ACS 5-Year Estimates are survey-based; margins of error are large for small-population ZIPs. Named rankings in this report use a 5,000-resident floor and the value screen a 10,000-resident floor; statewide, regional and county medians include every ZIP with data.
- Median home value is the owner's estimate from the ACS questionnaire, top-coded at $2,000,001. 52 ZIPs sit at the cap; their real medians and ratios are higher. Median household income is top-coded at $250,001 (10 ZIPs).
- Campus ZIPs (Stanford 94305, USC 90007, UCLA 90024, UC Berkeley 94704, Cal Poly 93405) and the Downtown Los Angeles ZIPs 90013 and 90014 have populations that do not describe the buyer or renter pool; they are shown but excluded from the "least affordable" ranking.
- Low ratios in ZIPs with a small owner share (North San Jose 95134, Sunnyvale 94089) reflect the mix of the owned stock (condominiums, manufactured homes), not single-family prices.
- Median gross rent includes utilities and covers all occupied rental units, including long-tenured and rent-controlled leases, so it runs below current asking rents in the coastal metros.
- ZIP-level medians describe areas, not households. A rent-to-income ratio above 30% means the typical rent is high relative to the typical income in that ZIP, not that every renter there is cost-burdened.
- Regional and county medians weight each ZIP equally, not by population.
Cite as: California Zip Codes Data Team, California ZIP Code Affordability Report 2026, cazipcodes.com, published 2026-09-21. Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates. Each ZIP code in the tables links to its full profile page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most affordable ZIP code in California?
By price-to-income ratio among ZIPs of 5,000+ residents, 95134 (North San Jose) is lowest at 2.1, but only 13% of its households own. Among majority-owner ZIPs the most attainable are 92241 (Desert Hot Springs, 2.3), 93555 (Ridgecrest, 2.7) and the southwest Bakersfield ZIPs 93313, 93311 and 93312 at 3.3–3.4.
What is the least affordable ZIP code in California?
90013 (Downtown Los Angeles) has the highest ratio at 30.4, driven by a very small, low-income resident population; Stanford's campus ZIP 94305 is next at 27.6+. Among ordinary residential ZIPs, Koreatown's 90004 (22.1) and 90005 (20.7) lead, and the 52 ZIPs at the $2,000,001 Census cap are higher still.
Which California region is the least affordable?
Los Angeles and Orange counties, with a median ZIP ratio of 8.7, ahead of the Bay Area at 8.2. The Bay Area has the highest home values ($1,109,000 median ZIP) but also the highest incomes ($129,552). The San Joaquin Valley is the most affordable region at 4.8.
How many California ZIP codes are rent-burdened?
174 of the 1,448 ZIP codes with rent data have a median gross rent above 30% of median household income; 22 are above 40% and 4 above 50%. The highest is 92257 (Downtown Los Angeles) at 81.1%.
Why do some ZIP codes show a home value of $2,000,000+?
The American Community Survey caps reported median home value at $2,000,001. 52 California ZIPs, concentrated on the Peninsula, in Marin and along the Los Angeles and Orange County coast, sit at that cap, so their true medians are higher and their price-to-income ratios are shown as minimums.
Where can a median income still buy a home in California?
Our value screen (10,000+ residents, ratio at or under 4, majority owner-occupied, poverty at or below the state median) returns 9 ZIP codes: Sunnyvale 94089, Bakersfield 93313, Bakersfield 93311, Bakersfield 93312, Clovis 93611, Shafter 93314, Madera 93636, Coarsegold 93614, Rancho Cordova 95742.
What data does this report use?
U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area level, the same dataset behind every ZIP code page on this site. Figures are computed by the California Zip Codes Data Team; no third-party estimates are used.