Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in California with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in California that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in California at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Jackson.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In California For 2026
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more California reading:
- Best Counties To Live In California
- Best Places To Raise A Family In California
- Best Places To Retire In California
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In California For 2026
1. Jackson
/10
Population: 5,048
Median Home Price: $433,491
Population Change: -0.3%
Home Price Change: -1.3%
More on Jackson: Crime | Movers
/10
/10
Population: 5,765
Median Home Price: $358,919
Population Change: 0.1%
Home Price Change: -1.2%
More on Dos Palos: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,074
Median Home Price: $915,960
Population Change: -0.3%
Home Price Change: 3.3%
More on Buellton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,585
Median Home Price: $376,328
Population Change: 0.3%
Home Price Change: -0.3%
More on Williams: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,041
Median Home Price: $551,706
Population Change: 0.1%
Home Price Change: -0.7%
More on Big Bear Lake: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,478
Median Home Price: $1,399,870
Population Change: -1.2%
Home Price Change: 1.0%
More on La Habra Heights: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,111
Median Home Price: $1,062,298
Population Change: -0.9%
Home Price Change: 1.4%
More on Calistoga: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,126
Median Home Price: $3,891,384
Population Change: -1.1%
Home Price Change: 5.0%
More on Woodside: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,034
Median Home Price: $1,410,758
Population Change: 0.0%
Home Price Change: 3.2%
More on Solvang: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in California for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in California. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in California with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for California with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in California, only 428 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 428 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Jackson is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Golden State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In California for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in California. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in California are Jackson, Lakeport, Dos Palos, Buellton, Williams, Big Bear Lake, La Habra Heights, Calistoga, Woodside, and Solvang.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more California reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In California
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson | 5,048 | $433,491 | -0.3% | -1.3% |
| 2 | Lakeport | 5,113 | $354,202 | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| 3 | Dos Palos | 5,765 | $358,919 | 0.1% | -1.2% |
| 4 | Buellton | 5,074 | $915,960 | -0.3% | 3.3% |
| 5 | Williams | 5,585 | $376,328 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 6 | Big Bear Lake | 5,041 | $551,706 | 0.1% | -0.7% |
| 7 | La Habra Heights | 5,478 | $1,399,870 | -1.2% | 1.0% |
| 8 | Calistoga | 5,111 | $1,062,298 | -0.9% | 1.4% |
| 9 | Woodside | 5,126 | $3,891,384 | -1.1% | 5.0% |
| 10 | Solvang | 6,034 | $1,410,758 | 0.0% | 3.2% |
| 11 | Gustine | 6,133 | $423,281 | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| 12 | Villa Park | 5,748 | $2,343,977 | -0.5% | 4.1% |
| 13 | St. Helena | 5,318 | $1,633,317 | -1.1% | -0.1% |
| 14 | Willows | 6,190 | $315,948 | -0.8% | 4.9% |
| 15 | Colusa | 6,505 | $366,115 | 1.0% | -0.6% |
| 16 | Holtville | 5,617 | $353,221 | 0.2% | 3.8% |
| 17 | Fowler | 7,094 | $470,310 | 2.4% | 0.7% |
| 18 | Crescent City | 6,046 | $363,343 | -2.2% | 0.8% |
| 19 | Loomis | 6,853 | $948,107 | 0.6% | 1.7% |
| 20 | Atherton | 6,993 | $7,890,840 | -0.4% | 3.6% |
| 21 | Huron | 6,519 | $246,747 | 1.5% | 1.9% |
| 22 | Gridley | 7,330 | $352,299 | -0.6% | 3.2% |
| 23 | Sausalito | 7,141 | $1,505,306 | -0.4% | 3.6% |
| 24 | Calipatria | 6,548 | $264,001 | -0.0% | 1.8% |
| 25 | Fort Bragg | 7,032 | $555,501 | 0.4% | -2.4% |
| 26 | Winters | 7,583 | $614,926 | 1.7% | 0.8% |
| 27 | Cotati | 7,489 | $727,230 | -0.6% | 0.6% |
| 28 | Hughson | 7,648 | $551,114 | 1.4% | 1.1% |
| 29 | Escalon | 7,451 | $601,489 | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| 30 | Yreka | 7,820 | $250,942 | -0.2% | 0.4% |
| 31 | Corning | 8,155 | $297,404 | -0.2% | 0.8% |
| 32 | Ojai | 7,577 | $1,141,102 | 0.0% | -0.1% |
| 33 | Fairfax | 7,516 | $1,213,199 | -0.1% | 3.7% |
| 34 | Guadalupe | 8,566 | $565,103 | 1.7% | 3.9% |
| 35 | Sebastopol | 7,445 | $1,086,416 | -0.3% | 2.1% |
| 36 | Woodlake | 7,702 | $332,363 | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| 37 | Firebaugh | 8,392 | $336,353 | 1.1% | 1.6% |
| 38 | Orland | 8,357 | $394,399 | 1.3% | 2.0% |
| 39 | Ione | 9,156 | $464,966 | 72.6% | 0.2% |
| 40 | Rolling Hills Estates | 8,131 | $1,901,413 | -0.3% | 1.6% |
| 41 | Pismo Beach | 8,014 | $1,123,130 | -0.1% | 0.7% |
| 42 | Westlake Village | 7,743 | $1,585,474 | -1.1% | 2.3% |
| 43 | Mammoth Lakes | 7,214 | $817,134 | -0.3% | 2.4% |
| 44 | Gonzales | 8,492 | $627,871 | -0.4% | 3.5% |
| 45 | Los Altos Hills | 8,377 | $6,102,344 | 0.1% | 5.9% |
| 46 | Live Oak | 9,347 | $392,216 | 0.9% | 0.5% |
| 47 | Cloverdale | 8,886 | $636,215 | -0.5% | 0.2% |
| 48 | Waterford | 9,204 | $429,372 | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| 49 | Calimesa | 10,902 | $566,184 | 2.1% | 1.0% |
| 50 | Tiburon | 9,012 | $3,020,895 | -0.3% | 6.9% |
| 51 | Taft | 7,125 | $205,745 | -1.4% | -0.8% |
| 52 | Rio Vista | 10,102 | $464,117 | 1.0% | -0.0% |
| 53 | Corte Madera | 10,077 | $1,838,958 | -0.2% | 5.4% |
| 54 | Capitola | 9,689 | $1,233,201 | -1.3% | 1.1% |
| 55 | Orange Cove | 9,695 | $299,867 | 0.9% | 3.6% |
| 56 | Shasta Lake | 10,311 | $297,948 | -0.2% | 2.1% |
| 57 | Exeter | 10,258 | $388,257 | -0.2% | 0.5% |
| 58 | Anderson | 11,255 | $338,059 | -0.2% | 1.5% |
| 59 | Morro Bay | 10,692 | $955,622 | -0.2% | 2.7% |
| 60 | Sierra Madre | 10,940 | $1,437,492 | -0.7% | 2.9% |
| 61 | Farmersville | 10,397 | $288,212 | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| 62 | Placerville | 10,762 | $531,048 | 0.3% | 0.9% |
| 63 | Sonoma | 10,670 | $943,021 | -0.5% | 0.1% |
| 64 | Canyon Lake | 11,119 | $704,581 | 0.1% | 0.9% |
| 65 | Signal Hill | 11,468 | $708,078 | -0.8% | 1.9% |
| 66 | Piedmont | 10,945 | $2,459,056 | -0.6% | 9.3% |
| 67 | Newman | 12,316 | $438,319 | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 68 | Los Alamitos | 11,794 | $1,583,957 | 0.1% | 5.3% |
| 69 | Clayton | 10,937 | $1,057,924 | -0.2% | 3.6% |
| 70 | Hillsborough | 11,099 | $5,279,135 | -0.2% | 4.3% |
| 71 | Emeryville | 13,081 | $448,554 | 2.5% | -1.0% |
| 72 | Healdsburg | 11,243 | $1,102,687 | -0.3% | 1.1% |
| 73 | Scotts Valley | 12,044 | $1,260,977 | -0.8% | 2.1% |
| 74 | Kingsburg | 12,755 | $475,599 | 1.3% | 2.6% |
| 75 | Fortuna | 12,326 | $414,815 | -0.7% | -0.6% |
| 76 | Mendota | 12,577 | $328,004 | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| 77 | Malibu | 10,421 | $3,142,247 | -0.9% | -2.0% |
| 78 | Larkspur | 12,854 | $2,129,544 | -0.0% | 6.3% |
| 79 | Marysville | 12,726 | $393,130 | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| 80 | Grand Terrace | 13,078 | $587,468 | 0.1% | 1.3% |
| 81 | Half Moon Bay | 11,391 | $1,573,307 | -0.6% | 3.5% |
| 82 | San Anselmo | 12,679 | $1,647,301 | -0.3% | 4.6% |
| 83 | Tehachapi | 11,946 | $424,155 | -3.4% | 0.1% |
| 84 | Commerce | 11,993 | $696,479 | -0.7% | 2.1% |
| 85 | Lindsay | 12,643 | $312,571 | 0.6% | 2.4% |
| 86 | Grass Valley | 14,113 | $509,977 | -0.1% | 1.7% |
| 87 | San Marino | 12,216 | $2,837,216 | -0.5% | 4.8% |
| 88 | Avenal | 13,608 | $257,256 | 1.2% | 1.8% |
| 89 | Mcfarland | 14,222 | $287,502 | 0.6% | 6.7% |
| 90 | Solana Beach | 12,823 | $2,183,118 | -0.1% | 3.3% |
| 91 | Palos Verdes Estates | 12,925 | $2,763,820 | -0.9% | 2.8% |
| 92 | Carpinteria | 13,036 | $1,506,925 | -0.5% | 3.6% |
| 93 | Grover Beach | 12,604 | $777,110 | -0.7% | 2.4% |
| 94 | King City | 13,604 | $526,055 | 0.7% | 2.1% |
| 95 | California City | 14,414 | $276,562 | -2.7% | -0.2% |
| 96 | Red Bluff | 14,549 | $311,879 | -0.3% | 0.9% |
| 97 | Auburn | 13,768 | $630,252 | 0.1% | 2.0% |
| 98 | Hawaiian Gardens | 13,691 | $647,288 | -0.9% | 2.5% |
| 99 | Livingston | 14,606 | $426,445 | 1.1% | 1.1% |
| 100 | Mill Valley | 14,012 | $2,073,166 | -0.4% | 6.6% |