California Cities by Median Home Sale Price, 2026
Highest-priced California city markets in the March 2026 Redfin snapshot
This ranking compares selected high-price California city markets by median home sale price, measured in U.S. dollars. The median is the middle transaction price among homes sold in the city during the selected period: half of recorded sales were above that price and half were below it.
The table uses public Redfin city housing-market profiles for March 2026, checked on May 24, 2026. The values are transaction-based sale-price medians, not asking prices, assessed values, home-value estimates, listing medians or affordability scores. They describe a market snapshot, not a forecast.
The scope is intentionally limited to 25 high-price California city-level profiles with publicly visible Redfin data and a March 2026 median sale price of about $1.6 million or higher. It should not be read as a complete statewide ranking of every California city.
Atherton leads the selected city markets in the March 2026 Redfin profile snapshot.
The ranking covers selected high-price city-level Redfin profiles, not every California municipality.
Public Redfin city housing-market profiles checked on May 24, 2026.
Actual median sale price for recorded home transactions, rounded to source display precision.
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What the selected high-price California markets show
The top of the list is concentrated in three market types: Silicon Valley and Peninsula towns with scarce land and very high household wealth; coastal luxury markets in Los Angeles, Orange County, Monterey County and Marin County; and small enclaves where a limited number of monthly transactions can set a very high median.
Bay Area cities dominate because the region combines high-income employment, limited developable land, established school districts, low turnover and a housing stock weighted toward expensive single-family homes. Atherton, Hillsborough, Portola Valley, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Saratoga, Palo Alto and Cupertino are all part of that pattern.
Southern California appears through Beverly Hills, Malibu, Newport Beach, Manhattan Beach, Laguna Beach and Santa Monica. These markets are shaped by coastal access, luxury inventory, entertainment and finance wealth, international demand and the limited supply of premium locations close to major job centers.
Top 10 selected California city markets by median home sale price
The top ten are not simply large cities with many transactions. Several are small, affluent communities where the number of monthly sales is limited and the housing stock is dominated by expensive detached homes. That makes the median sale price especially sensitive to the mix of homes that sold in March 2026.
| Rank | City | County / region | Median sale price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atherton | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $14.8M |
| 2 | Beverly Hills | Los Angeles County · Southern California | $9.0M |
| 3 | Hillsborough | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $7.2M |
| 4 | Belvedere | Marin County · Bay Area | $6.8M |
| 5 | Portola Valley | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $6.5M |
| 6 | Los Altos Hills | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $5.1M |
| 7 | Malibu | Los Angeles County · Southern California | $4.8M |
| 8 | Carmel-by-the-Sea | Monterey County · Central Coast | $4.4M |
| 9 | Los Altos | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $4.1M |
| 10 | Saratoga | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $4.1M |
Equal rounded prices are kept as separate rows. The ranking is sorted by displayed median sale price; where rounded values match, source precision and city order can affect the displayed sequence.
Chart: price gap among the highest-priced selected markets
The chart compares the top ten selected city markets in the March 2026 snapshot. Atherton stands far above the rest of the group, while the next tier is split between Beverly Hills, Peninsula luxury towns and coastal communities with limited high-end inventory.
Methodology
The ranking uses median home sale price from public Redfin city housing-market profiles. Each value was taken from the city-level March 2026 profile display checked on May 24, 2026. The metric is transaction-based: it reflects homes sold in the selected city and period, not all homes that exist in the city.
How the indicator is calculated
Median sale price is the middle transaction price among homes sold in the city during the selected period. If recorded sales are ordered from lowest to highest, the median is the central observation.
Data year and snapshot
The article uses March 2026 Redfin city housing-market profiles checked on May 24, 2026. This snapshot was chosen because it provides a recent comparable monthly view across the selected cities.
Selection rule
The table includes 25 California city-level Redfin profiles with publicly visible March 2026 median sale prices at roughly $1.6 million or higher. It is a selected high-price market table, not a census of all California cities.
Sorting and rounding
Cities are sorted from highest to lowest displayed median sale price. Values are shown in millions of U.S. dollars and rounded to the precision visible in the Redfin profile display.
Median is preferred over average sale price because it is less distorted by one exceptionally expensive transaction. Even so, monthly medians can move sharply in small luxury markets. Atherton, Belvedere, Portola Valley and Hillsborough may have only a small number of sales in a given month, so the size, condition and location of the homes sold can shift the median without proving that every property in the city changed value.
The main comparability limits are transaction mix, city boundary definitions, property-type composition and sales volume. A city with many detached homes is not directly comparable to a city with a larger condo or townhouse share. Zillow home-value estimates and Census owner-occupied value series are useful background indicators, but they are not used to order this table.
Full ranking: 25 selected California city markets by median sale price
The table lists the selected high-price city markets from the March 2026 Redfin snapshot. Use the controls to search, filter by broad region, change the visible subset or sort the existing rows.
| Rank | City | County / region | Median sale price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atherton | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $14.8M |
| 2 | Beverly Hills | Los Angeles County · Southern California | $9.0M |
| 3 | Hillsborough | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $7.2M |
| 4 | Belvedere | Marin County · Bay Area | $6.8M |
| 5 | Portola Valley | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $6.5M |
| 6 | Los Altos Hills | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $5.1M |
| 7 | Malibu | Los Angeles County · Southern California | $4.8M |
| 8 | Carmel-by-the-Sea | Monterey County · Central Coast | $4.4M |
| 9 | Los Altos | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $4.1M |
| 10 | Saratoga | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $4.1M |
| 11 | Palo Alto | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $3.5M |
| 12 | Cupertino | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $3.4M |
| 13 | Newport Beach | Orange County · Southern California | $3.4M |
| 14 | Manhattan Beach | Los Angeles County · Southern California | $3.3M |
| 15 | Menlo Park | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $3.0M |
| 16 | Piedmont | Alameda County · Bay Area | $3.0M |
| 17 | Tiburon | Marin County · Bay Area | $2.8M |
| 18 | Laguna Beach | Orange County · Southern California | $2.8M |
| 19 | Burlingame | San Mateo County · Bay Area | $2.8M |
| 20 | Los Gatos | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $2.5M |
| 21 | Mill Valley | Marin County · Bay Area | $2.4M |
| 22 | Mountain View | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $2.0M |
| 23 | Danville | Contra Costa County · Bay Area | $1.9M |
| 24 | Sunnyvale | Santa Clara County · Bay Area | $1.8M |
| 25 | Santa Monica | Los Angeles County · Southern California | $1.6M |
Primary source: Redfin public city housing-market profiles for March 2026, checked May 24, 2026. Values are sale-price medians and are rounded to the visible source precision.
Insights from the March 2026 high-price market snapshot
The top tier is supply-constrained and wealth-driven
Atherton, Hillsborough, Belvedere and Portola Valley are small, highly affluent markets where limited land, large homes and low turnover can produce unusually high monthly medians. Their position says as much about transaction mix as about broad price pressure.
Luxury coastal markets form a second pattern
Beverly Hills, Malibu, Newport Beach, Manhattan Beach, Laguna Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Santa Monica reflect a different price engine: coastal access, scarcity of premium locations, lifestyle demand and a large share of high-end inventory.
The middle of the list remains expensive by national standards. Palo Alto, Cupertino, Newport Beach, Manhattan Beach, Menlo Park, Piedmont, Tiburon, Laguna Beach and Burlingame sit in a price band where a typical transaction requires very high income, substantial wealth or both.
The lower end of this selected table is not an affordable-housing segment. Mountain View, Danville, Sunnyvale and Santa Monica still represent high-cost markets. Their medians are lower than the most exclusive enclaves because they include broader inventory mixes, larger transaction counts, more attached housing or less concentrated ultra-luxury activity.
What this means for buyers, renters and market analysts
For buyers, median sale price is a fast way to understand the transaction level of a market, but it is not a full affordability measure. A household also has to account for mortgage rates, property taxes, insurance, down payment, HOA fees, maintenance costs and the type of home being purchased.
For renters, high sale prices often signal long-term pressure on the local housing market. Expensive ownership markets can keep higher-income households in rental housing for longer, which may support higher rents even when purchase activity slows.
For employers and local policymakers, the ranking highlights where home prices can affect hiring, commuting, teacher retention, public-sector staffing and household formation. High prices near job centers can push middle-income workers toward longer commutes and deepen regional affordability stress.
FAQ
Which California city market has the highest median sale price in this snapshot?
Atherton ranks first among the selected city markets, with a March 2026 median sale price of about $14.8 million in the public Redfin city profile used for this table.
Is this a complete ranking of every city in California?
No. The table covers 25 selected high-price California city-level Redfin profiles with visible March 2026 data and medians of about $1.6 million or higher. It is designed to show the upper end of the market, not every municipality in the state.
Is median sale price the same as average home price?
No. Median sale price is the middle transaction price. Average sale price is the arithmetic mean and can be pulled upward by one exceptionally expensive sale, especially in small luxury markets.
Why do small cities appear so high?
Small cities with expensive detached homes can post very high medians because there are fewer monthly transactions and a narrower housing mix. A handful of estate-sized or coastal sales can strongly affect the monthly median.
Does a high median price mean every home in the city costs that much?
No. The median describes recorded sales during the period. Individual homes can sell far below or above the median depending on location, lot size, property type, condition and timing.
Why can Redfin, Zillow and Census values differ?
Redfin median sale price reflects homes sold in a selected period. Zillow Home Value Index estimates typical home value for a geography. Census ACS B25077 reports survey-based owner-occupied housing values over a longer period. These metrics answer related but different questions and should not be merged into one ranking.
Can this ranking change next month?
Yes. Monthly median sale prices can change quickly, especially in cities with low sales volume. A different month can produce a different order if the mix of sold homes changes.
Sources
The ranking is based on public Redfin city housing-market profiles for March 2026. Zillow and Census references are included only to clarify why home-value estimates and survey-based owner-occupied values are not mixed with transaction medians.
- Redfin city housing-market profiles — primary source for all 25 median sale-price rows. Values were checked from public city-level profiles on May 24, 2026.
- Redfin Data Center — background reference for Redfin housing-market data and market-trend context.
- Zillow Research Data — contextual reference for home-value index methodology; not used to order the ranking.
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS B25077 — contextual reference for owner-occupied home value; not used to order the ranking.
