Cost to Own
United States › Rankings › California Counties ranked 58 Data vintage ACS 2023 5-Year

Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year

Lowest Rents in California

Median gross rent by county, lowest first, including the utilities a tenant pays. Set these against the monthly cost to own the same county's median home: where the two are close, buying is not the stretch it looks like.

Where does yours land? Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.

California ranked

#County Median rentMonthly to ownMedian home
1 Modoc County $818$1,699$212,000
2 Trinity County $922$2,466$329,000
3 Imperial County $1,012$2,201$279,500
4 Plumas County $1,034$2,505$327,400
5 Lassen County $1,043$2,035$259,500
6 Siskiyou County $1,043$2,194$284,500
7 Glenn County $1,103$2,561$338,400
8 Colusa County $1,139$2,817$375,100
9 Inyo County $1,140$2,577$338,400
10 Tehama County $1,159$2,400$315,600
11 Sierra County $1,181$2,567$334,100
12 Del Norte County $1,182$2,415$319,600
13 Tulare County $1,206$2,338$303,000
14 Yuba County $1,209$2,880$380,000
15 Kern County $1,220$2,438$310,600
16 Kings County $1,228$2,363$305,700
17 Tuolumne County $1,247$3,035$406,200
18 Humboldt County $1,249$3,114$418,800
19 Shasta County $1,267$2,637$347,200
20 Mariposa County $1,268$2,705$358,000
21 Merced County $1,284$2,775$368,400
22 Lake County $1,292$2,433$316,800
23 Fresno County $1,300$2,757$362,600
24 Madera County $1,307$2,778$367,700
25 Mendocino County $1,325$3,593$486,000
26 Sutter County $1,364$3,023$399,400
27 Butte County $1,369$3,058$408,700
28 Amador County $1,380$3,157$422,800
29 Stanislaus County $1,528$3,188$426,600
30 Mono County $1,593$3,819$514,300
31 Calaveras County $1,615$3,295$441,800
32 El Dorado County $1,626$4,665$640,500
33 San Joaquin County $1,633$3,681$494,500
34 Nevada County $1,635$4,423$602,800
35 Sacramento County $1,702$3,707$498,900
36 San Bernardino County $1,706$3,521$475,000
37 Yolo County $1,757$4,374$593,800
38 Riverside County $1,814$3,815$510,300
39 Los Angeles County $1,893$5,646$783,300
40 San Luis Obispo County $1,899$5,610$777,200
41 San Benito County $1,922$5,498$751,500
42 Placer County $1,991$4,872$658,800
43 Monterey County $1,995$5,210$723,100
44 Santa Barbara County $2,050$5,298$735,700
45 Solano County $2,088$4,335$589,600
46 Sonoma County $2,093$5,631$779,000
47 Napa County $2,141$6,031$838,800
48 San Diego County $2,154$5,707$791,600
49 Santa Cruz County $2,172$7,185$1,015,200
50 Ventura County $2,248$5,542$768,400
51 Alameda County $2,318$7,599$1,057,400
52 Contra Costa County $2,322$6,069$830,800
53 Orange County $2,352$6,537$915,500
54 San Francisco County $2,419$9,756$1,380,500
55 Marin County $2,584$9,864$1,390,000
56 Santa Clara County $2,814$9,799$1,382,800
57 San Mateo County $2,893$10,456$1,494,500
58 Alpine County —$3,452$466,100

Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.

Nationwide

Lowest Rents across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in California

Other rankings

All 31 rankings