California's most affordable city for homebuyers? Why fast-growing Victorville tops the list

Yahoo

22-05-2025

While more than a quarter of all houses sold in the Golden State fetch a selling price of $1 million or more, opportunities to make a deal without breaking the bank still abound—if you do not want to live along the coast.
California cities located inland made the top 50 of the most affordable places in the country to buy a home, according to a new report. And fast-growing Victorville came in at the No. 1 most affordable city in California.
To identify the most affordable cities for home buyers, WalletHub compared 300 U.S. cities across 10 key metrics, including home price, maintenance costs, tax rates, and cost of living.
Cities were then divided by population size— large, medium, and small—and ranked.
Overall, the report showed that Flint, Michigan, is the most affordable city for home buyers in the country, where it is actually cheaper to buy than to rent. Nearly 21% of all houses in the city are vacant, a probable impact of the city's well-publicized water crisis. Still, after almost a decade, an emergency order on the city's drinking water standards was recently lifted.
Source: WalletHub
Victorville is the most affordable city for homebuyers in the state and ranked #34 for most affordable small city in the nation.
The city's high desert climate can reach 100 degrees in the summer and bring snow flurries in the winter.
The population rose 11.5% between 2020 and 2023 (136,854), making it one of the fastest growing suburbs in the country.
The city has a median home price of nearly $430,000, as of March 2025, according to Zillow.
Lancaster in Southern California is the most affordable mid-size city in the state for homebuyers.
Located in the western Mojave Desert, Lancaster has a population of about 170,000 and is a prime stop for tourists on their way to view the vibrant wildflowers of the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve.
The city has a median home price of $446,667, as of March 2025, according to Zillow.
Stockton, in California's Central Valley, is the report's most affordable large city for homebuyers.
With a population of nearly 320,000, Stockton is the 11th largest city in the state.
Located on the San Joaquin River in the northern San Joaquin Valley, the city boasts a vast network of waterways, farmers markets, family-friendly attractions and a more than 150-year-old university.
The median home price in Stockton, as of March 2025, is just over $400,000, according to Zillow.
California's fabled coastline, with its scenic drives and charming towns perfect for weekend getaways, also comes with expensive real estate.
The report found that Santa Barbara is the least affordable city in the country for homebuyers, ranking at the bottom of the 300-city list. Home to beautiful beaches, historic landmarks, a bustling downtown, and one of the state's most competitive public universities, Santa Barbara also has eye-watering home prices. The coastal city has a whopping $1.9 million median sale price, according to Zillow.
Four other California cities were listed in the country's top five most unaffordable places for homes: Glendale, Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Santa Monica.
Sunnyvale and Santa Clara also topped the list for the most expensive home repairs in the country.
Just one up from the bottom is the southern California enclave of Santa Monica at #299, which has a median sale price of $1.8 million.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: WalletHub ranks California's most affordable cities for homebuyers