SOLD sign, file photo. // CH Sentinel
By Sara Beth Williams–
A recently released list of the Top 20 most affordable places to buy a home in California put together by real estate site Redfin, listed Citrus Heights and Sacramento among its ranks, basing the ranking on the mortgage payment-to-household income ratio of each city.
Elk Grove ranked number one in affordability, with a payment to income ratio of 40.9 percent, where the 40.9 percent represents how much percentage of a household’s income is spent on paying the mortgage.
The median household income in Elk Grove is listed as $122,000, while median home values are in the $600,000’s and the median monthly mortgage payment is $4,100.
Citrus Heights came in at the number 17 spot out of 20, with a payment to income ratio of 49.6 percent, with a median household income of $77,000, median home value of $499,000 and median mortgage payment of $3,100.
Sacramento real estate appraiser and housing analyst Ryan Lundquist said there is sometimes a disconnect between affordability rankings and what people feel who have “boots on the ground,” adding that affordability is commonly defined as “being able to put no more than thirty percent of household income toward housing costs.”
“With that said, I like that this article is at least considering income and price because some articles don’t even do that,” Lundquist said.
Roseville and Folsom took the number two and three spot respectively, with Roseville’s payment to income ratio at 41.8 percent, and Folsom’s payment to income ratio of 43 percent. While Roseville’s median income and median home values are similar to Elk Grove’s, Folsom’s median income is $139,000, with a median home value at $785,000 and a median mortgage payment of $5,000
Rocklin and Sacramento also made the list, taking spots further down, with Rocklin’s payment to income ratio sitting at 45 percent. Rocklin’s median income, home value, and mortgage payments are similar to Folsom’s, while Sacramento’s median income, home value, and mortgage payments differ significantly. Sacramento has a listed payment to income ratio of 45.9 percent, with a median income of $83,000, median home value of $501,000, and median mortgage payment of $3,000.
Lundquist explained that the Sacramento area often ranks well in comparison as median housing sales prices are much lower compared to sales prices in Southern California, the Bay Area, and other coastal areas.
Citrus Heights is one of the more affordable areas of Sacramento County Lundquist said, with the median sales price sitting about 10 percent lower than the county, on average.
“The problem though is sometimes affordability conversations look at price alone, so what looks affordable to an outsider might not be affordable to someone living in the actual market,” Lundquist emphasized.
According to housing affordability charts based on the index from the California Association of Realtors, the number of households in percentages that were able to afford a median-priced home in Sacramento County dropped from 47 percent in 2020 to as low as 23 percent in 2023, before rising again to 28 percent in 2025.
In 2012, 74 percent of families were able to afford a median-priced home in Sacramento County, data shows.
“The silver lining here is we’re seeing the housing market become slightly more affordable in light of both slightly lower mortgage rates and prices,” Lundquist said of the data for the last 2 years, which is showing a slight increase.