You’re probably never going to make enough money to live in the richest counties in California.
The median household income in Santa Clara County, the richest county in California is $164,281, significantly higher than the US median of $74,580, which means based purely on math most people never make enough to live there.
And that’s okay because it’s still fun to look at the people living in the lap of luxury.
So we used Saturday Night Science and the most recent Census to rank home prices and incomes for all 58 counties in the Golden State. Let’s star gaze together.
What is the richest county in California? The richest county in California is Santa Clara County. In contrast, the poorest county in the state is Trinity County, according to the Census data.
$164,281 median income · $1,679,213 median home price
$158,855 median income · $1,606,596 median home price
$149,091 median income · $1,469,866 median home price
$140,970 median income · $1,357,007 median home price
$129,367 median income · $1,086,737 median home price
$116,289 median income · $1,194,407 median home price
$111,093 median income · $1,149,400 median home price
$127,229 median income · $789,908 median home price
$111,471 median income · $887,245 median home price
$106,268 median income · $941,931 median home price
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $99,122
California statewide median: $774,582
On the map
Where California’s richest counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which California county is the richest?
To determine the richest county in California, we have to look at a handful of metrics that correlate with how rich people are. To do that, we made assumptions about what makes a county rich. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to the American Community Survey data and Zillow for the most recent reporting period for data on the following:
- Average Home Price
- Median Income
We then ranked each county in California for each of the criteria from one to 58, with one being the richest.
Taking the average rank across the two criteria, we created a Rich Score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Richest County In California.”
The result is some of the places with the most expensive real estate and highest earners in the Golden State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our first time ranking the richest counties to live in California.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Richest Counties In California
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara County | 1,902,047 | $164,281 | $1,679,213 |
| 2 | San Mateo County | 742,340 | $158,855 | $1,606,596 |
| 3 | Marin County | 257,969 | $149,091 | $1,469,866 |
| 4 | San Francisco County | 830,235 | $140,970 | $1,357,007 |
| 5 | Alameda County | 1,649,473 | $129,367 | $1,086,737 |
| 5 | Orange County | 3,165,820 | $116,289 | $1,194,407 |
| 7 | Santa Cruz County | 264,926 | $111,093 | $1,149,400 |
| 8 | Contra Costa County | 1,165,012 | $127,229 | $789,908 |
| 8 | Napa County | 134,869 | $111,471 | $887,245 |
| 10 | San Diego County | 3,288,774 | $106,268 | $941,931 |
| 11 | Ventura County | 837,469 | $109,797 | $885,254 |
| 12 | San Benito County | 67,290 | $114,394 | $771,496 |
| 13 | Placer County | 419,156 | $115,998 | $685,954 |
| 13 | Santa Barbara County | 443,701 | $98,161 | $994,384 |
| 15 | San Luis Obispo County | 281,555 | $97,446 | $906,922 |
| 16 | Sonoma County | 485,040 | $104,674 | $792,143 |
| 17 | El Dorado County | 192,662 | $108,845 | $653,106 |
| 18 | Monterey County | 437,613 | $97,230 | $849,201 |
| 19 | Mono County | 13,148 | $99,415 | $755,677 |
| 20 | Los Angeles County | 9,808,667 | $90,112 | $888,345 |
| 21 | Solano County | 451,918 | $100,401 | $577,138 |
| 22 | Alpine County | 1,616 | $105,521 | $514,117 |
| 23 | Riverside County | 2,478,600 | $93,074 | $608,606 |
| 24 | Yolo County | 220,564 | $91,752 | $622,227 |
| 25 | San Joaquin County | 797,334 | $92,179 | $532,711 |
| 25 | Nevada County | 102,481 | $89,882 | $611,865 |
| 27 | Sacramento County | 1,594,006 | $92,175 | $530,243 |
| 28 | San Bernardino County | 2,197,104 | $85,478 | $551,491 |
| 29 | Stanislaus County | 553,990 | $81,468 | $467,166 |
| 30 | Sutter County | 98,857 | $79,704 | $438,591 |
| 31 | Amador County | 41,428 | $88,044 | $418,138 |
| 31 | Calaveras County | 46,248 | $78,647 | $433,276 |
| 33 | Inyo County | 18,739 | $73,991 | $529,158 |
| 34 | Madera County | 160,940 | $76,627 | $425,121 |
| 35 | Yuba County | 84,507 | $76,373 | $418,797 |
| 36 | Mendocino County | 90,244 | $68,092 | $489,567 |
| 37 | Tuolumne County | 54,498 | $77,404 | $388,488 |
| 38 | Fresno County | 1,016,725 | $74,201 | $409,962 |
| 39 | Colusa County | 21,984 | $75,672 | $370,445 |
| 40 | Shasta County | 181,436 | $72,636 | $370,888 |
| 41 | Mariposa County | 17,082 | $68,412 | $401,079 |
| 42 | Butte County | 207,929 | $67,928 | $402,207 |
| 44 | Humboldt County | 134,541 | $61,160 | $425,013 |
| 44 | Merced County | 290,201 | $65,510 | $418,062 |
| 44 | Kings County | 153,298 | $70,995 | $364,476 |
| 46 | Kern County | 915,075 | $70,210 | $363,091 |
| 47 | Tulare County | 478,693 | $71,300 | $360,206 |
| 48 | Del Norte County | 27,107 | $67,058 | $366,286 |
| 49 | Glenn County | 28,494 | $67,139 | $362,263 |
| 50 | Plumas County | 19,423 | $66,031 | $362,743 |
| 51 | Imperial County | 180,202 | $57,681 | $378,175 |
| 52 | Lassen County | 30,356 | $67,403 | $231,145 |
| 53 | Sierra County | 2,746 | $63,355 | $328,754 |
| 53 | Tehama County | 65,167 | $63,784 | $318,464 |
| 55 | Lake County | 68,152 | $60,621 | $305,226 |
| 56 | Siskiyou County | 43,466 | $59,095 | $278,755 |
| 57 | Modoc County | 8,600 | $59,455 | $191,781 |
| 58 | Trinity County | 15,860 | $53,002 | $246,520 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + Zillow via Saturday Night Science. All 58 California counties.
Summary
Summary: The Richest Counties In California For 2026
Living in California can vary from one part of the state to the next, with pretty extreme variance in home prices and incomes across counties.
The richest counties in California are Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, Marin County, San Francisco County, Alameda County, Orange County, Santa Cruz County, Contra Costa County, Napa County, and San Diego County.
Now you know the parts of the state where Goodwill will have the best goodies, and that’s what you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
