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Most Expensive US Cities by Median Home Value

Among US cities with at least 50,000 residents, Newport Beach, CA has the country's most expensive housing, with a median home value of $2,000,000+ — versus a national median of $332,700. The 100 priciest markets are ranked below.

Top 10 by Median Home Value

Newport Beach
$2,000,000+
Palo Alto
$2,000,000+
Cupertino
$2,000,000+
Mountain View (Santa Clara County)
$1,927,000
Sunnyvale
$1,801,800
Redwood City
$1,801,700
Santa Monica
$1,755,500
Encinitas
$1,646,800
San Mateo
$1,618,700
Santa Clara
$1,582,600

California utterly dominates this ranking, supplying 84 of the 100 most expensive cities — the visible result of decades in which coastal job growth outran housing construction. In Newport Beach, the median home costs about 12.7x the median household income, a ratio at which a conventional mortgage is out of reach for most local earners despite the city's high incomes.

Note that these are median values for entire cities, so uniformly expensive small cities outrank larger ones that mix luxury and affordable neighborhoods. Values at $2,000,001 are the Census Bureau's reporting cap — those markets' true medians are higher, and their order within the tie is not meaningful. For the state-level view, see the most expensive states, and for prices relative to incomes, the affordability ranking.

Full Rankings

# City Home ValueMedian IncomeValue-to-IncomePopulation
1 Newport Beach, CA $2,000,000+$156,86712.7x83,845
2 Palo Alto, CA $2,000,000+$231,1018.7x67,237
3 Cupertino, CA $2,000,000+$234,7078.5x58,566
4 Mountain View (Santa Clara County), CA $1,927,000$189,91710.1x83,732
5 Sunnyvale, CA $1,801,800$186,1709.7x154,236
6 Redwood City, CA $1,801,700$157,81411.4x82,447
7 Santa Monica, CA $1,755,500$114,88515.3x91,169
8 Encinitas, CA $1,646,800$162,22910.2x61,480
9 San Mateo, CA $1,618,700$153,50410.5x103,105
10 Santa Clara, CA $1,582,600$178,9588.8x130,256
11 Santa Barbara, CA $1,570,800$106,18214.8x87,779
12 Pleasanton, CA $1,537,100$190,1248.1x76,960
13 San Ramon, CA $1,509,500$196,1617.7x85,993
14 Arcadia, CA $1,441,800$113,51612.7x55,170
15 Berkeley, CA $1,413,900$108,09213.1x120,257
16 Sammamish, WA $1,407,300$239,6905.9x66,463
17 Fremont, CA $1,403,800$181,5067.7x228,295
18 San Clemente, CA $1,398,400$140,06210.0x63,273
19 San Francisco, CA $1,394,500$140,9709.9x830,235
20 San Rafael, CA $1,355,600$119,43511.4x60,433
21 Bellevue, WA $1,340,300$165,5768.1x151,847
22 Dublin, CA $1,317,100$214,3856.1x70,803
23 Redondo Beach, CA $1,279,200$150,2458.5x69,291
24 Newton, MA $1,264,900$190,3046.6x89,044
25 Carlsbad, CA $1,257,000$142,7488.8x114,373
26 Milpitas, CA $1,251,700$178,7987.0x78,578
27 Brookline, MA $1,246,800$142,1018.8x63,266
28 Alameda, CA $1,235,700$137,6979.0x77,238
29 San Jose, CA $1,233,200$146,4278.4x990,138
30 East Honolulu, HI $1,212,000$159,5187.6x51,360
31 Santa Cruz, CA $1,209,000$115,47510.5x61,607
32 Irvine, CA $1,191,500$136,7198.7x311,690
33 Laguna Niguel, CA $1,190,900$140,4528.5x64,139
34 South San Francisco, CA $1,188,800$136,5788.7x64,305
35 Bethesda, MD $1,169,900$192,2376.1x69,397
36 Redmond, WA $1,167,800$162,5607.2x77,353
37 Yorba Linda, CA $1,147,100$157,5827.3x67,170
38 Kirkland, WA $1,115,400$150,4147.4x92,621
39 Costa Mesa, CA $1,115,100$111,50510.0x110,330
40 Daly City, CA $1,115,000$123,5479.0x101,964
41 Livermore, CA $1,105,600$160,7756.9x85,522
42 Union City, CA $1,104,900$133,7158.3x67,464
43 Castro Valley, CA $1,104,600$142,7797.7x65,001
44 Glendale, CA $1,102,300$88,39312.5x190,748
45 Huntington Beach, CA $1,100,000$120,9199.1x195,240
46 Pasadena, CA $1,093,300$105,19210.4x136,969
47 Cambridge, MA $1,092,100$130,7488.4x118,796
48 Burbank (Los Angeles County), CA $1,089,100$97,08211.2x104,546
49 Torrance, CA $1,074,700$116,2179.2x142,130
50 Fountain Valley, CA $1,072,300$115,2379.3x56,258
51 Walnut Creek, CA $1,057,300$130,4328.1x70,088
52 Boulder, CO $1,039,500$87,49311.9x106,433
53 Novato, CA $1,032,500$115,7368.9x52,546
54 Gilroy, CA $1,027,400$133,1077.7x59,004
55 Mission Viejo, CA $1,009,600$136,1237.4x92,151
56 Thousand Oaks, CA $991,600$135,6037.3x125,205
57 Tustin, CA $950,400$112,5038.4x78,981
58 Orange, CA $945,800$117,1138.1x138,266
59 Seattle, WA $938,600$123,8607.6x754,195
60 Lake Forest, CA $937,000$135,1756.9x86,281
61 Oakland, CA $929,900$101,6009.2x439,418
62 Los Angeles, CA $921,200$81,93911.2x3,857,263
63 Placentia, CA $921,000$115,9297.9x52,826
64 Aliso Viejo, CA $917,900$142,4396.4x51,113
65 Somerville, MA $911,300$132,5726.9x81,036
66 El Dorado Hills, CA $909,500$165,3495.5x51,026
67 San Diego, CA $906,700$108,0778.4x1,389,526
68 Fullerton, CA $902,600$104,2868.7x140,968
69 Diamond Bar, CA $902,200$108,2818.3x53,355
70 Hoboken, NJ $895,100$180,5795.0x58,668
71 Arlington, VA $895,000$142,1146.3x236,254
72 Petaluma, CA $878,600$115,4307.6x59,247
73 Chino Hills, CA $874,900$126,3346.9x77,927
74 San Marcos, CA $868,000$109,3777.9x94,882
75 Davis, CA $866,100$90,0459.6x66,978
76 Hawthorne, CA $863,400$75,84811.4x85,191
77 Monterey Park, CA $863,000$81,85510.5x59,132
78 Glendora, CA $862,700$113,5697.6x50,926
79 Westminster, CA $858,300$85,54110.0x89,860
80 Alhambra, CA $857,800$88,0249.7x81,022
81 Napa, CA $856,400$105,9638.1x78,239
82 Hayward, CA $854,400$113,3187.5x158,801
83 San Leandro, CA $844,200$101,4208.3x87,826
84 Urban Honolulu, HI $843,400$86,5049.7x345,482
85 Buena Park, CA $838,800$110,5507.6x82,871
86 Brentwood, CA $836,600$142,4945.9x65,208
87 Eastvale, CA $831,900$160,0695.2x70,633
88 Anaheim, CA $831,200$95,2278.7x344,521
89 San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA $827,300$103,0698.0x109,857
90 Camarillo, CA $827,300$113,4287.3x70,186
91 Lakewood, CA $827,200$119,1776.9x79,850
92 Simi Valley, CA $823,800$122,0816.7x125,634
93 Whittier, CA $822,600$97,2018.5x86,165
94 Hacienda Heights, CA $820,800$109,1937.5x54,291
95 Garden Grove, CA $814,100$92,1748.8x170,964
96 La Mesa, CA $812,000$95,0288.5x60,797
97 Shoreline, WA $811,100$112,7517.2x61,431
98 Rosemead, CA $807,200$73,56611.0x50,013
99 Long Beach, CA $806,600$87,4309.2x455,548
100 Concord, CA $797,600$108,7097.3x124,035

Limited to places with at least 50,000 residents.

The ACS top-codes median household income at $250,001 and median home value at $2,000,001; a value at that cap means "at least this much."

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates.

About This Ranking

All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, the Bureau's most reliable dataset for state and local statistics. Because estimates pool five years of survey responses, they describe a recent period rather than a single moment, and small differences between closely ranked entries may fall within the survey's margin of error. Learn more about the data on our methodology page or at data.census.gov.

More National Rankings

Richest States Median household income States by Population All 50 states ranked by size Most Expensive States Median home value Most Affordable States Home price vs. local income Most Educated States Bachelor's degree rate Oldest States Median age, oldest to youngest Poverty Rate by State Lowest to highest Homeownership by State Owner-occupied share Most Diverse States Racial & ethnic diversity index Largest US Cities Top 100 by population Richest US Cities Median income, 50k+ population Most Educated Cities Bachelor's rate, 50k+ population Salary Needed to Buy a Home Income required for the median home Unemployment by State Lowest to highest Labor Force Participation Share of adults working or job-seeking Households Earning $100k+ Six-figure household share Richest US Counties Median household income Largest US Counties Top 100 by population Most Diverse Cities Diversity index, 50k+ population Highest Homeownership Cities Owner-occupied share, 50k+ population

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most expensive city in the US?

Among cities with at least 50,000 residents, Newport Beach, California has the highest median home value at $2,000,000+.

Why do some cities show a home value of $2,000,001?

The Census Bureau top-codes median home values at $2,000,001. A city at that figure has a true median of at least $2 million; the ACS does not report exactly how much higher.

How many of the most expensive cities are in California?

84 of the 100 most expensive US cities (with 50,000+ residents) are in California.