Where CA Cities Rank Among Nation's Best And Worst Real Estate Markets

California cities landed at both ends of a new ranking of the best real estate markets in the country, with one city placing among the top 10 and two cities ranking among the bottom.

Irvine ranked No. 10 among 300 cities in WalletHub's 2026 ranking of the Best Real Estate Markets. Lancaster ranked No. 291 and Palmdale ranked No. 292.

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WalletHub compared cities across 17 key metrics, including housing affordability, median home-price appreciation and job growth.

The ranking comes as home values have increased about 1.1% over the past year, while typical mortgage payments remain below last year's levels, according to WalletHub.

Several California cities also stood out in individual measures.

San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara had the lowest share of seriously underwater mortgages among the cities studied. Norwalk had the lowest vacancy rate.

Santa Monica had the highest home price as a share of income among the 300 cities, according to WalletHub.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said home prices are only one factor buyers and real estate professionals should consider when evaluating a market.

"Factors like the cost of living, the potential for the value of homes to increase, the availability of recently-built homes and the quality of the city's job market are all important to consider in conjunction with asking prices and interest rates," Lupo said in a statement. "The best cities may not always be the cheapest, but they offer excellent housing options and long-term stability."

Frisco, Texas, ranked No. 1 overall, followed by McKinney, Texas, and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

WalletHub said Frisco's top ranking was driven in part by its newer housing stock, affordability and job growth. Nearly 47% of homes there were built between 2010 and 2024, according to the report.

New Orleans, Louisiana, ranked at the bottom of the list.

These are the cities in California that made the rankings. National rankings are in parenthesis:

1. Irvine (No. 10)
2. Roseville (No. 12)
3. Santa Clara (No. 29)
4. Clovis (No. 33)
5. Ontario (No. 34)
6. Elk Grove (No. 39)
7. Murrieta (No. 58)
8. Sunnyvale (No. 66)
9. San Diego (No. 70)
10. Santa Maria (No. 72)
11. Chula Vista (No. 75)
12. Vista (No. 76)
13. Carlsbad (No. 85)
14. San Jose (No. 89)
15. Rancho Cucamonga (No. 91)
16. Escondido (No. 100)
17. Visalia (No. 105)
18. Garden Grove (No. 112)
19. Oceanside (No. 114)
20. Fontana (No. 123)
21. Mission Viejo (No. 124)
22. Anaheim (No. 125)
23. Fullerton (No. 127)
24. Fremont (No. 128)
25. Westminster (No. 133)
26. Orange (No. 134)
27. Temecula (No. 138)
28. West Covina (No. 139)
29. Costa Mesa (No. 143)
30. Bakersfield (No. 145)
31. Santa Ana (No. 146)
32. Huntington Beach (No. 149)
33. Sacramento (No. 150)
34. Santa Barbara (No. 152)
35. El Monte (No. 154)
36. Salinas (No. 156)
37. Riverside (No. 160)
38. Oxnard (No. 162)
39. Fresno (No. 163)
40. San Mateo (No. 166)
41. Ventura (No. 169)
42. Modesto (No. 171)
43. Santa Monica (No. 172)
44. Thousand Oaks (No. 179)
45. Torrance (No. 182)
46. Simi Valley (No. 183)
47. Pomona (No. 190)
48. Vacaville (No. 193)
49. Rialto (No. 194)
50. Corona (No. 197)
51. Burbank (No. 199)
52. Glendale (No. 200)
53. Pasadena (No. 202)
54. El Cajon (No. 209)
55. Carson (No. 211)
56. Santa Rosa (No. 212)
57. Norwalk (No. 212)
58. Moreno Valley (No. 216)
59. Daly City (No. 220)
60. Hayward (No. 221)
61. Fairfield (No. 224)
62. Long Beach (No. 227)
63. Berkeley (No. 228)
64. San Bernardino (No. 229)
65. Concord (No. 232)
66. Los Angeles (No. 237)
67. South Gate (No. 238)
68. Downey (No. 239)
69. Santa Clarita (No. 256)
70. Vallejo (No. 259)
71. Compton (No. 260)
72. Chico (No. 264)
73. Inglewood (No. 267)
74. Richmond (No. 268)
75. San Francisco (No. 273)
76. Stockton (No. 275)
77. Victorville (No. 277)
78. Oakland (No. 282)
79. Antioch (No. 286)
80. Lancaster (No. 291)
81. Palmdale (No. 292)

Read the full report on WalletHub.