Most Affordable California Cities Still Above National Average
The Bay Area is still topping the charts in housing costs, with San Francisco more than doubling the national average and housing prices rising 100% in 2023. The Los Angeles area isn’t much different, they’re looking at 73% above the national average. Common alternatives are cities in the Central Valley, such as Visalia, Bakersfield, Fresno, etc. Other more out of the way areas like Yuba City in Northern California or El Centro in the southeastern tip of the state are still ranking slightly above average national costs because of steep utility costs.
There is no way to deny it: California has a housing crisis. And you know it’s a crisis when articles talking about viable housing alternatives still cost more than the national average. There is no reason for California, and especially the Bay Area, to be double the cost of living in other states. In fact, San Francisco is the best example of this issue—the most expensive city in the country actually has tens of thousands of vacant units, and is still unable to ease the housing crisis. One would think it was a lack of housing causing prices to soar, but the truth is this is a crisis created by corporate real estate. Massive enterprises like Blackstone are the main culprits. They buy up housing, kick existing tenants out, and jack up the rent. This issue is so widespread that evidence has shown that by 2030, if continuing at the current rate, about 40% of all housing in the nation will be owned by corporate real estate.
The Chronicle/Silvia Flores
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