How we ranked the best places to live in California
"Best" depends on what you need, so this ranking measures one thing we can measure the same way everywhere: how much house value you get and how well that value has held up. We scored the 59 California cities this site tracks that have both a Zillow typical home value and a Zillow observed rent figure for September 2026. Neighborhoods inside bigger cities, and region-wide series such as Orange County and Silicon Valley, are left out so that each row is one city.
Each city gets a score out of 100 built from three Zillow Home Value Index measures:
- Price (40%). A lower typical home value scores higher.
- 10-year change (30%). A bigger gain since September 2016 scores higher. It shows long-run demand.
- Value held (30%). Today's value as a share of the city's all-time peak. A city at a record scores highest; one that has fallen from its peak scores lower.
We turned each measure into a percentile rank among the cities, weighted it and added the three. The score does not measure schools, jobs, commutes, weather or how a place feels, so use it as a starting list. For context, Zillow's typical home value for California as a whole was $761,538 in September 2026, up 0.6% in a year and 72.0% in 10 years.
The 15 best places to live in California by home value data
All figures are Zillow's typical home value and observed rent for September 2026. "Value held" is the September 2026 value as a share of the city's highest month on record.
| Rank | City | County | Typical home value | 1 year | 10 years | Value held | Typical rent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Juan Capistrano | Orange County | $1,339,804 | +4.2% | +100.2% | 100.0% | $4,164 | 73 |
| 2 | Garden Grove | Orange County | $1,001,908 | +4.8% | +106.3% | 100.0% | $2,703 | 72 |
| 3 | Bakersfield | Kern County | $385,686 | 0.0% | +78.9% | 99.3% | $1,901 | 69 |
| 4 | Lakewood | Los Angeles County | $872,068 | +2.6% | +83.2% | 100.0% | $3,401 | 69 |
| 5 | Laguna Niguel | Orange County | $1,493,093 | +5.0% | +118.2% | 100.0% | $3,343 | 69 |
| 6 | Torrance | Los Angeles County | $1,100,115 | +1.9% | +82.2% | 100.0% | $3,006 | 68 |
| 7 | Huntington Beach | Orange County | $1,344,725 | +5.6% | +101.8% | 100.0% | $3,105 | 67 |
| 8 | Long Beach | Los Angeles County | $852,391 | +2.4% | +84.3% | 99.4% | $2,412 | 66 |
| 9 | Riverside | Riverside County | $641,514 | +0.9% | +81.9% | 97.6% | $2,427 | 66 |
| 10 | Oceanside | San Diego County | $865,182 | +1.6% | +90.6% | 99.0% | $2,910 | 65 |
| 11 | Whittier | Los Angeles County | $815,136 | +1.6% | +82.4% | 99.4% | $2,402 | 65 |
| 12 | Cypress | Orange County | $1,067,841 | +4.0% | +92.1% | 100.0% | $3,015 | 64 |
| 13 | Red Bluff | Tehama County | $309,686 | +3.1% | +71.0% | 97.5% | $1,542 | 64 |
| 14 | Dana Point | Orange County | $1,773,166 | +6.8% | +120.9% | 100.0% | $4,323 | 62 |
| 15 | Temecula | Riverside County | $756,809 | +0.5% | +81.0% | 97.8% | $2,946 | 62 |
Twelve of the 15 are in Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties, where values kept rising through 2025 and 2026. Many Bay Area and Sacramento-area cities peaked in mid-2022 and are still below that level, which pulls their "value held" score down. Read the ranking with that in mind: it rewards places where prices kept rising, not just places that are cheap. For a list built on price alone, see our cheapest places to live in California.
Each place in the top 15
1. San Juan Capistrano, Orange County
San Juan Capistrano is a small southern Orange County city of about 35,000 people that grew up around Mission San Juan Capistrano, founded in 1776. It sits inland from Dana Point along Interstate 5 and has a Metrolink and Amtrak station downtown.
Zillow's typical home value: $1,339,804 in September 2026 (+4.2% in a year, +41.2% in five years). Score: 73 of 100. It ranks first because it combines a record-high value with a 10-year gain of +100.2%. The price is the catch: at $1,339,804 it is well above the state's typical home. Read our San Juan Capistrano living guide.
2. Garden Grove, Orange County
Garden Grove is a northern Orange County city of about 172,000 people, crossed east to west by State Route 22, the Garden Grove Freeway.
Zillow's typical home value: $1,001,908 in September 2026 (+4.8% in a year, +33.6% in five years). Score: 72 of 100. It has the lowest typical value of the Orange County cities this site tracks, $1,001,908, yet its value more than doubled in 10 years (+106.3%) and set a new high in September 2026. Typical rent is $2,703. See is Garden Grove a good place to live.
3. Bakersfield, Kern County
Bakersfield is the Kern County seat, a city of about 400,000 at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. Oil, natural gas and agriculture anchor the local economy.
Zillow's typical home value: $385,686 in September 2026 (0.0% in a year, +22.1% in five years). Score: 69 of 100. It is the cheapest city in this top 15, with a typical value of $385,686, about half the state figure, and typical rent of $1,901. Value was flat over the year and sits within 1% of its February 2025 peak. Our Bakersfield cost of living guide covers the rest of the budget.
4. Lakewood, Los Angeles County
Lakewood is a Los Angeles County suburb of about 82,000 people between Long Beach, Bellflower, Cerritos and Cypress, with the I-605 freeway along its eastern side.
Zillow's typical home value: $872,068 in September 2026 (+2.6% in a year, +18.5% in five years). Score: 69 of 100. Its typical value of $872,068 reached a new high in September 2026 after a +2.6% year, and it has gained +83.2% over 10 years. Typical rent is $3,401, one of the higher rents relative to price in this list. See our Lakewood living guide.
5. Laguna Niguel, Orange County
Laguna Niguel is in the San Joaquin Hills in the southeast corner of Orange County. It began as one of California's first master-planned communities after the Laguna Niguel Corporation bought the Rancho Niguel land in 1959, and it is mostly residential.
Zillow's typical home value: $1,493,093 in September 2026 (+5.0% in a year, +53.1% in five years). Score: 69 of 100. It posted the third-largest 10-year gain of any city in this data, +118.2%, and is at a record $1,493,093. Higher prices hold its score down. See the Laguna Niguel neighborhoods guide.
6. Torrance, Los Angeles County
Torrance is a South Bay city of about 140,000, founded in 1912, with about one and a half miles of beachfront on Santa Monica Bay and 30 parks.
Zillow's typical home value: $1,100,115 in September 2026 (+1.9% in a year, +20.4% in five years). Score: 68 of 100. Its typical value, $1,100,115, set a new high in September 2026, and the 10-year gain was +82.2%. Typical rent is $3,006. Compare it with its beach-city neighbors in our Torrance cost of living guide.
7. Huntington Beach, Orange County
Huntington Beach has a 9.5-mile stretch of sandy beach and calls itself Surf City, with Bolsa Chica and Huntington state beaches at either end.
Zillow's typical home value: $1,344,725 in September 2026 (+5.6% in a year, +40.5% in five years). Score: 67 of 100. It is one of the few beach cities in the top 15. The typical value of $1,344,725 is a record and has roughly doubled in a decade (+101.8%). Typical rent is $3,105. See the Huntington Beach housing market.
8. Long Beach, Los Angeles County
Long Beach is the second-largest city in Los Angeles County, home to the Port of Long Beach and neighborhoods from Belmont Shore to Bixby Knolls.
Zillow's typical home value: $852,391 in September 2026 (+2.4% in a year, +16.4% in five years). Score: 66 of 100. Its typical value of $852,391 sits about 0.6% under its December 2024 peak and is up +84.3% over 10 years. Typical rent is $2,412. Our Long Beach neighborhoods guide breaks the city down by area.
9. Riverside, Riverside County
Riverside is the Riverside County seat and the largest city in the Inland Empire, about 50 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It is home to the University of California, Riverside, and the Mission Inn.
Zillow's typical home value: $641,514 in September 2026 (+0.9% in a year, +17.5% in five years). Score: 66 of 100. At $641,514, it is one of the cheaper places in this top 15 and below the state typical value. It gained +81.9% in 10 years and holds about 98% of its December 2024 peak. Typical rent is $2,427. See is Riverside a good place to live.
10. Oceanside, San Diego County
Oceanside is the northernmost beach city in San Diego County, with a 1,942-foot wooden pier, a small craft harbor and the California Surf Museum downtown.
Zillow's typical home value: $865,182 in September 2026 (+1.6% in a year, +25.2% in five years). Score: 65 of 100. Its typical value, $865,182, has risen +90.6% in 10 years, the strongest decade of any city below $900,000 in this list. Typical rent is $2,910. Start with our Oceanside guide.
11. Whittier, Los Angeles County
Whittier is a 14.7-square-mile charter city in the Gateway Cities area of Los Angeles County, home to Whittier College.
Zillow's typical home value: $815,136 in September 2026 (+1.6% in a year, +18.1% in five years). Score: 65 of 100. Its typical value of $815,136 is a fraction under its December 2024 peak and has gained +82.4% in 10 years. Typical rent is $2,402. Read is Whittier a good place to live.
12. Cypress, Orange County
Cypress is a northwestern Orange County city of about 50,000 people next to Lakewood and Los Alamitos.
Zillow's typical home value: $1,067,841 in September 2026 (+4.0% in a year, +32.2% in five years). Score: 64 of 100. Its typical value of $1,067,841 is a record, up +4.0% over the year and +92.1% over 10 years. Typical rent is $3,015. Our Cypress guide lists the city's ZIP codes and schools pages.
13. Red Bluff, Tehama County
Red Bluff is the Tehama County seat, on the upper Sacramento River and Interstate 5, about 31 miles south of Redding and 131 miles north of Sacramento.
Zillow's typical home value: $309,686 in September 2026 (+3.1% in a year, +6.5% in five years). Score: 64 of 100. It is the lowest-priced place in the top 15 at $309,686, with typical rent of $1,542. Its 10-year gain of +71.0% is the smallest in the list, and value sits about 2.5% under its July 2022 peak. See is Red Bluff a good place to live.
14. Dana Point, Orange County
Dana Point is a south Orange County harbor city. Its harbor, dedicated in 1971, has a marina and the Catalina Express to Avalon, and Doheny State Beach sits at its south end.
Zillow's typical home value: $1,773,166 in September 2026 (+6.8% in a year, +44.9% in five years). Score: 62 of 100. It had the second-biggest 10-year gain in this data, +120.9%, to a record $1,773,166. Price is the reason it is not higher. Typical rent is $4,323. See is Dana Point a good place to live.
15. Temecula, Riverside County
Temecula is a southwestern Riverside County city of about 110,000, known for Temecula Valley Wine Country and Old Town. It sits about 58 miles north of downtown San Diego.
Zillow's typical home value: $756,809 in September 2026 (+0.5% in a year, +16.6% in five years). Score: 62 of 100. Its typical value of $756,809 is just under the state figure and about 2% below its February 2025 peak, with a 10-year gain of +81.0%. Typical rent is $2,946. Our Temecula new construction guide covers the newer communities.
Best places in California for what you want
If one measure matters more to you than the blend, these lists use the same September 2026 Zillow data.
Lowest entry price: the North State and Central Valley
15 of the 59 cities had a typical value under the state's $761,538. The lowest were Red Bluff ($309,686), Anderson ($336,128), Redding ($385,253), Bakersfield ($385,686), Citrus Heights ($468,847). These are in Shasta, Tehama, Kern and Sacramento counties, a long way from the coast.
Biggest 10-year gains: mostly Orange County
The five biggest 10-year rises were Newport Beach (+129.8%), Dana Point (+120.9%), Laguna Niguel (+118.2%), Encinitas (+106.8%), Garden Grove (+106.3%). Past gains do not predict future ones, but they show where buyers kept competing for homes.
Where buying looks cheap next to renting
Dividing the typical home value by a year of typical rent gives a rough price-to-rent ratio. The lowest ratios, where a home costs the fewest years of rent, were Anderson (15.2), Red Bluff (16.7), Bakersfield (16.9), Lincoln (18.4), Windsor (18.8). In Beverly Hills and Newport Beach the ratio was above 70. A low ratio favors buying; a high one means renting costs far less than owning the same kind of home.
Where prices are still below the peak
The cities furthest below their own record were Carlsbad (19.8% below its November 2025 peak), Danville (12.7% below its June 2022 peak), Sausalito (11.6% below its June 2022 peak), Sacramento (9.0% below its July 2022 peak), Folsom (8.7% below its June 2022 peak). Carlsbad's drop is unusually steep in Zillow's index and is not seen in neighboring cities, so check recent sales before relying on it. Buyers in the others may have more room to negotiate than in cities at a record.
Cities at a record high in September 2026
22 cities set a new Zillow high in September 2026, among them Lakewood, Camarillo, Garden Grove, Cypress, Torrance, San Juan Capistrano. In these markets sellers have the upper hand, so plan for competing offers.
Northern or Southern California?
In this data the split is clear. Southern California cities, especially in Orange County, have kept setting records, while most Northern California cities outside the coast are still below their 2022 peaks. That makes Northern California the better place to look for a lower entry price and a market that is not at its top, and Southern California the place where value has held best.
Our regional rankings use other measures for each half of the state: see the best places to live in Northern California, Southern California, the Bay Area and Orange County. If you want the coast, our best beach towns in California ranks the beach cities on their own.
How to choose where to live in California
Use the ranking to shortlist, then run every place through the same checks.
Price the insurance first
Wildfire risk has pushed many insurers to limit new policies, and some buyers end up on the FAIR Plan. Get a quote before you make an offer. See our homeowners insurance guide and the wildfire zones guide.
Work out the full tax bill
Prop 13 resets the assessed value to your purchase price, so your bill starts near 1% of the price plus local voter-approved charges, and newer suburbs often add Mello-Roos. Our California property tax guide and Mello-Roos guide show how to estimate it.
Test the commute and the job market
The cheapest cities on this list are far from the big coastal job centers. Drive the commute at rush hour, or check how your employer treats remote work, before you count the savings.
Look up schools by address, not by city
Use the California School Dashboard and the district's own address lookup for any home you consider. Attendance boundaries change, and a city name does not tell you which school serves a street.
When you have a shortlist, the how to buy a house in California guide walks through the steps, and the cost of living in California guide covers everyday costs.