Cost of Living in California 2024

California State is home to some of USA's richest and poorest cities and counties. By 2024, According to COI Index, California is the expensive state in terms of Cost of Living. California State has a total area of 155,751.4 square miles, including 7,900.2 square miles of water, making it the 3rd-largest state by area. California is bordered by Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon. The California's mean household income is $113,563 where as median household income is $80,440, compared to $65,712 Median household income in United States. The employment rate of California is 60.3%. The average cost of living in California in 2023 is $47,801 per year. Types of Language Spoken at Home in California, 55.5% speak english, 28.8% speak Spanish, 4.6% speak other European languages, 10.1% speak Asian languages. A comparison of the Cost of Living in California indexes across major Cities compared to the national average. May be these things are to be known when there is a move in people destination to California like How much does it cost to live, eat, and go out on the city or town in California? Do California is an expensive state? How much of an annual salary do you need to survive in the state of California or the data below estimates the cost of living in California per month?

COL Index	142.4
Grocery	116.2
Housing	204.1
Utilities	127.3
Transportation	136.0
Health	112.5
Misc.	113.4
Mean Avg.Salary	$80,440

California has the fastest declining population in the USA in 2022. More people leave California for other states annually than move into California from other states due to high cost of living. There is a net growth in state population from foreign citizens moving into the state from other countries. The top 10 cities of California are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield and Anaheim.

Population	38,066,920
Population density	244.4
Per capita income	$32,482
Median household income	$66,529
Median family income	$77,252

Transportation

Means of Transportation to Work in California, 73.5% drive alone, 9.8% take carpool, 5.2% take public transport, 2.6% go by walk. Generally, 16 is the legal driving age limit required, some states has a requirement of 14 years to 14 years 9 months with parental supervision, and other are between 15 years to 16 years.

One-way Ticket (Local Transport) ($)	Travel Monthly Pass ($)	Taxi Standard ($)	Taxi every 1km ($)	Taxi 1hour Waiting ($)
1.75-2.75	75.00-135.00	2.85-5.00	1.68-3.11	29.19-30.00

Housing in California

For the most of the people housing is the key portion of the budget. By 2023, how much to live in California? Housing in California are expensive in some to the key cities like San Francisco to the least expensive city like Sacramento. Median housing value in California is $568,500 compared to $240,500 in US median value. $1,614 Median gross rent in California is high compared to $1,097 Median gross rent in United States. The average cost of the house value in San Francisco is between 1 million to 1.5 million.

Apartment Rent (1 bedroom) in City Centre ($)	Apartment Rent (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre ($)	Apartment Rent (3 bedrooms) in City Centre ($)	Apartment Rent (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre ($)	Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre ($)
1,800.00-2,886.00	1,400.00-2,200.00	3,000.00-6,000.00	2,500.00-4,000.00	6,512.17-10,763.91

According to 2019 US census estimates, the median values of housing units, monthly costs with mortgage and rental per month for the top 20 cities of California state. Rental accommodation is expensive in the range of $1100 - $2500 for a one/two bedroom apartment in major cities.

California Cities	Median Housing Cost in dollars	Median Monthly costs with mortgage in dollars	Median Rental per month in dollars
Los Angeles	697,200	2,820	1,554
San Diego	658,400	2,696	1,806
San Jose	999,900	3,350	2,223
San Francisco	1,217,500	3,809	1,959
Fresno	276,600	1,058	1,641
Sacramento	380,600	1,973	1,370
Long-Beach	614,400	2,511	1,460
Oakland	807,600	2,857	1,600
Bakersfield	264,500	1,718	1,105
Anaheim	630,500	2,563	1,733
Santa-Ana	558,400	2,179	1,632
Riverside	411,000	1,989	1,504
Stockton	317,700	1,650	1,184
Irvine	933,600	3,246	2,480
Chula-Vista	546,400	2,676	1,715
Fremont	1,086,700	3,328	2,569
San-Bernardino	285,000	1,616	1,103
Modesto	324,100	1,644	1,295
Fontana	418,000	2,066	1,501
Santa Clarita	584,400	2,683	2,044

Utilities

Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage	1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local	Internet (Cable/ADSL)
80.00-350.00	0.05-0.15	50.00-95.00

Food and Groceries

Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant($)	Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course ($)	McDonalds Standard Meal ($)	Cappuccino (regular) ($)	Milk (regular), (1 liter) ($)	Loaf White Bread ($)	Rice (1kg) ($)	Chicken Fillets (1kg) ($)	Beef Round (1kg) ($)
11.00-30.00	50.00-120.00	8.00-10.00	3.00-6.00	0.79-1.53	2.20-5.51	2.18-10.00	4.41-15.76	8.82-19.84

Health, Fitness and Education

California cost of living for medical care is about 15 to 20% of your income over your lifetime in the US. Most employer do and employee pay minimal out of pocket will cover most of the cost of Health Insurance, it would be approx. $1300 to $2000 per month for a family of 4. For Schooling of Elementary to High School, Public schooling is available at no cost to every kid, schools are assigned to every zip code.

Short visit to Doctor ($)	Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult	Preschool (or Kindergarten), Monthly for 1 Child ($)	International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child ($)	Cinema ticket for 1 Seat ($)
116-220	20.00-60.00	600.00-1,800.00	12,000.00-32,000.00	8.00-15.00

Family/Individual Earnings

According to 2019 US Census estimates, the table below is the full earnings statistics of California State:

Income	Total	Percent	Male	Female
$1 to $9,999 or loss	211,992	1.6	103,455	108537
$10,000 to $14,999	334,618	2.5	169,648	164,970
$15,000 to $24,999	1,380,305	10.1	731,535	648770
$25,000 to $34,999	1,889,309	13.9	1,045,101	844208
$35,000 to $49,999	2,385,783	17.5	1,356,960	1028823
$50,000 to $64,999	1,889,841	13.9	1,088,831	801010
$65,000 to $74,999	872,789	6.4	504,654	368,135
$75,000 to $99,999	1,585,371	11.6	916,698	668673
$100,000 or more	3,072,257	22.6	2,070,404	1001853
Median earnings (dollars)	52,566	-	57,016	50,220
Mean earnings (dollars)	77,330	-	84,910	66,586

Source: US Census 2019 Estimates: EARNINGS IN 2019 (INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS)

FAQ

Can I live on $50,000 or $60,000 a year in California?
Yes, you can survive in low populated cities, If you compare the top 5 cities, you're not likely going to be able to buy real estate, Inflation seems to be constant, especially with real estate, buying or renting. So with the income of $50,000 or $60,000 you could qualify for low income housing in the outskirts of the city. Cost of living in California for a single person may have a tax advantage that offsets some of the cost of parenting. As long as you don't go to fancy restaurant's, with general shopping, it would be between $400 to $600 per month.
Is it expensive to live in California?
It depends where you live. Big cities are expensive, particularly San Francisco and environs. if you are from overseas, The main expense is housing, and medical is the next biggest expense.
How much it cost to buy a apartment in San Francisco/San Jose?
If you are buying at decent price, It will be about $700 to 800 thousand for a two bedroom apartment in the outer ring around San Francisco (San Rafael, Walnut Creek, San Jose) which is between 40 to 50 minutes away from the main center, and with $2,800 a month in mortgage costs.
What is the Cost of living for students?
Other than the Tuition fees, The Cost of living in California for students are bit less compared to employed people due to the type of housing. The estimated monthly housing cost for a student for school year would be between $300 to $700 for single room/shared/campus apartments.

References

California Households
Numbeo
Cost of Living Index report (coli)