Where are the best places to buy a house in California? New report reveals top cities
Where are the best places to buy a home in California?
According to Niche’s 2024 Best Places to Buy a House in California list, they range from a Central Valley city and a Bay Area suburb to Sacramento-area neighborhoods.
The ranking and review website graded places in the Golden State on a scale of A+ through D-, focusing on home values, property taxes, home ownership rates, housing costs and real estate trends
Here’s which California communities made the list:
Where are the best places to buy a house in California?
Ridgecrest, a city with a population of 28,118 in Kern County, was No. 1 on Niche’s latest list of the best places to buy a house in California.
Niche gave the city a B+ grade overall, due to factors including above-average public schools and outdoor activities.
“Living in Ridgecrest offers residents a sparse suburban feel and most residents own their homes,” Niche said, noting that the conservative-leaning city is home to both families and young professionals.
The median home value in Ridegcrest is $224,600.
Niche listed Pacheco — a suburb of Oakland with a population of 5,041 — as the second best place to buy a house in California.
The suburb earned an overall grade of A- from Niche.
The community in Contra Costa County, which scored high grades for public schools, nightlife and diversity, has “a lot of restaurants, coffee shops and parks,” Niche said.
The median home value in Pacheco is $240,600.
Johnstonville, a town in Lassen County with 1,090 residents, was No. 3 on Niche’s list.
The rural community, which earned an overall C+ grade, scored high for weather and health and fitness.
The median home value in Johnstonville is $276,800.
What are the top 10 spots to purchase a home?
According to Niche, here are the top 10 places to buy a house in California, according to Niche:
- Ridgecrest
- Pacheco
- Johnstonville
- Silver Lakes in San Bernardino County
- Empire Ranch neighborhood in Folsom in Sacramento County
- Shasta in Shasta County
- Big River in San Bernardino County
- Greenacres in Kern County
- Sky Valley in Riverside County
- Lexington Hills/The Parkway neighborhood in Folsom
How did Niche come up with its rankings?
Niche based its housing rankings on data available from federal and local government datasets, including the U.S. Census and FBI, the company said on its website.
To calculate its overall grades, Niche looked at multiple factors, such as housing, jobs, public schools and crime rates.
This story was originally published June 25, 2024 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Where are the best places to buy a house in California? New report reveals top cities."
