California Houses Most Expensive Markets in The US

California is home to some of the most expensive markets in the US. According to a recent survey from Finder.com that analyzed the cities with the highest cost of living in the nation, California was home to four of the top five cities on the list, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego. Was the only city in the top five that was not in California. It ranked third on the list. San Francisco ranked at the top of the list, requiring the highest salary in the nation to live comfortably. Prospective homeowners would need $206,760 to buy a home in the market. The market ranked first in 2018 as well, the last time the survey was conducted; however, the cost of living requirement was down 6.84%. Neighboring San Jose ranked second on the list, the same rank it held in the 2018 survey. The market also had a reduction in average cost of living since 2018, down 15.59%. Los Angeles ranked fourth on the list. The cost of living was down only 1.94% since 2018, and the market held the same ranking. San Diego, on the other hand, moved up three spots since 2018, from eight to fifth place. Still, the cost of living was down compared 2.86%. Interestingly, the cost of living requirements decreased in each of the top five markets. Housing costs largely drove the cost of living in these markets, and while these costs have increased, other costs have stagnated. While there are many factors that determine cost of living, our study showed that while average non-housing expenditures and non-mortgage debt didn’t show significant changes, the average interest rate across the board decreased. Exacerbating the problem, many developers have focused on luxury housing and apartment developments, rather than affordable developments. This has made housing even more unattainable