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The 20 most affordable cities in California to buy a house<\/p>\n
Homeownership is fundamental<\/a> to the American dream. It offers wealth<\/a>, security, community, and countless other benefits. Yet for many California residents, the dream feels increasingly out of reach\u2014even as incomes rise<\/a> and mortgage rates<\/a> fall. Near-record prices have made homes hard to come by and often even harder to afford, leaving buyers and sellers stuck<\/a> and younger generations priced out<\/a>.<\/p>\n But affordable pockets still exist. In cities across the state, residents can comfortably spend around 30% of their income or less on housing, which is widely considered the affordable threshold.<\/p>\n To find out where these cities are, Redfin Real Estate<\/a> ranked the most affordable cities in California, based on their local payment to income ratios. All data is an average for the January-October 2025 period. To see the most affordable cities in the country, read this recent Redfin article<\/a>.<\/p>\n #1. Elk Grove, California<\/p>\n – Payment to income ratio: 40.9%<\/p>\n – Median sale price: $652,686<\/p>\n – Median household income: $122,229<\/p>\n – Income needed to buy: $166,672<\/p>\n – Median monthly mortgage payment: $4,167<\/p>\n #2. Roseville, California<\/p>\n – Payment to income ratio: 41.8%<\/p>\n – Median sale price: $639,738<\/p>\n – Median household income: $117,354<\/p>\n – Income needed to buy: $163,365<\/p>\n – Median monthly mortgage payment: $4,084<\/p>\n – Payment to income ratio: 43.2%<\/p>\n – Median sale price: $785,749<\/p>\n – Median household income: $139,263<\/p>\n – Income needed to buy: $200,651<\/p>\n – Median monthly mortgage payment: $5,016<\/p>\n – Payment to income ratio: 43.4%<\/p>\n – Median sale price: $669,832<\/p>\n – Median household income: $118,253<\/p>\n – Income needed to buy: $171,050<\/p>\n – Median monthly mortgage payment: $4,276<\/p>\n #5. Brentwood, California<\/p>\n – Payment to income ratio: 43.9%<\/p>\n – Median sale price: $800,505<\/p>\n – Median household income: $139,567<\/p>\n – Income needed to buy: $204,419<\/p>\n – Median monthly mortgage payment: $5,110<\/p>\n #6. Vacaville, California<\/p>\n – Payment to income ratio: 44.0%<\/p>\n – Median sale price: $624,077<\/p>\n – Median household income: $108,580<\/p>\n – Income needed to buy: $159,366<\/p>\n – Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,984<\/p>\n #7. West Sacramento, California<\/p>\n – Payment to income ratio: 45.0%<\/p>\n – Median sale price: $533,498<\/p>\n – Median household income: $90,791<\/p>\n – Income needed to buy: $136,236<\/p>\n – Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,406<\/p>\n