countyscore

Best Cost of Living Counties in California

Median rent, home values, and housing affordability Compare rankings across all 58 counties.

Average Cost of Living Score
10/100
Top County
Modoc County
Counties Ranked
58

Top 10

#1
Modoc County
CA
67/100
#2
Trinity County
CA
55/100
#3
Siskiyou County
CA
35/100
#4
Del Norte County
CA
29/100
#5
Inyo County
CA
24/100
#6
Lassen County
CA
23/100
#7
Plumas County
CA
22/100
#8
Imperial County
CA
22/100
#9
Tehama County
CA
18/100
#10
Glenn County
CA
17/100

All California Counties Ranked

#CountyCost of Living ScoreOverall Score
1Modoc County, CA
67
49.7
2Trinity County, CA
55.1
48.3
3Siskiyou County, CA
35
37.9
4Del Norte County, CA
28.9
39.9
5Inyo County, CA
24.2
41.1
6Lassen County, CA
23.1
40.4
7Plumas County, CA
22.4
41
8Imperial County, CA
22.1
33.7
9Tehama County, CA
17.5
36.7
10Glenn County, CA
17.4
41.8
11Colusa County, CA
16.7
41.8
12Lake County, CA
15.6
31.6
13Humboldt County, CA
14.1
40
14Sierra County, CA
14.1
52.4
15Tulare County, CA
13.4
35.2
16Mariposa County, CA
13.1
43.9
17Mendocino County, CA
12.6
44.1
18Kern County, CA
12.2
27.8
19Shasta County, CA
12.1
52.3
20Kings County, CA
11.9
38.2
21Merced County, CA
11.9
35.3
22Butte County, CA
10.4
39.3
23Yuba County, CA
10.3
37.7
24Tuolumne County, CA
9.9
41.7
25Fresno County, CA
9.8
33
26Madera County, CA
9.8
35.5
27Sutter County, CA
9.7
35
28Amador County, CA
8.9
41.8
29Stanislaus County, CA
6.3
35.6
30Calaveras County, CA
6
43
31Alpine County, CA
5.2
51.2
32San Joaquin County, CA
4.1
33.1
33San Bernardino County, CA
3.9
33.7
34Sacramento County, CA
3.7
38.3
35Mono County, CA
3.5
38.5
36Nevada County, CA
3.5
45.2
37El Dorado County, CA
3.2
49.8
38Yolo County, CA
3
38
39Riverside County, CA
2.7
37.2
40San Luis Obispo County, CA
2
42.9
41Monterey County, CA
1.8
39
42Santa Barbara County, CA
1.6
43
43Los Angeles County, CA
1.4
36.9
44Placer County, CA
1.3
46.5
45Solano County, CA
1.3
36.4
46Sonoma County, CA
1.1
44.8
47Napa County, CA
1
43.6
48San Benito County, CA
0.9
43.3
49San Diego County, CA
0.8
42.3
50Santa Cruz County, CA
0.8
41.6
51Ventura County, CA
0.7
44.3
52Orange County, CA
0.4
44.3
53Contra Costa County, CA
0.3
40.1
54Alameda County, CA
0.2
40.6
55San Francisco County, CA
0.2
43.6
56Marin County, CA
0.1
47.4
57San Mateo County, CA
0.1
47.6
58Santa Clara County, CA
0.1
42.2

Data Source

Cost of Living data from CostByCounty. See full details at CostByCounty. Data updated February 2026.