Best Places to Buy Rental Property in California (2026)

There is no honest way to rank California cities by rental return without rent data, and this page does not have it. What it does have is transaction evidence: the median price homes actually closed at inside each city's limits, and how many closings happened. That answers the two questions that come before any cash flow analysis, what it costs to get in and whether you can get back out.

What this page measures, and what it does not

Every city below cleared at least 100 closings in its reporting window, which filters out markets too thin to read. They are ranked cheapest first by median closed price, from $270,000 to $419,000. You will not find rent estimates, rent-to-price ratios, cap rates, cash-on-cash projections or gross yield rankings here. Resideline does not have verified rent data for these cities, so publishing those numbers would be invention rather than analysis. Entry price and transaction volume are what the data supports. Every figure describes closings inside the city limits, not the wider postal area that shares the city's name. The two can differ a lot: a postal area usually reaches into surrounding townships, which pulls the median toward whatever those townships are worth. California's statewide median closed price is $729,000 across 193,489 tracked closings.

The rankings

1. Oroville, $270,000, 258 closings

At $270,000 the entry price is about 37 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 258 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 22 a month. About 83 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Oroville market page.

2. Crestline, $349,500, 218 closings

At $349,500 the entry price is about 48 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 218 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 36 a month. About 98 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Crestline market page.

3. Yucca Valley, $369,500, 262 closings

At $369,500 the entry price is about 51 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 262 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 44 a month. About 89 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Yucca Valley market page.

4. Tulare, $370,000, 322 closings

At $370,000 the entry price is about 51 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 322 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 54 a month. About 92 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Tulare market page.

5. Hanford, $375,500, 373 closings

At $375,500 the entry price is about 52 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 373 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 62 a month. About 96 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Hanford market page.

6. Banning, $380,000, 457 closings

At $380,000 the entry price is about 52 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 457 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 76 a month. About 87 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Banning market page.

7. Madera, $385,000, 219 closings

At $385,000 the entry price is about 53 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 219 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 36 a month. About 91 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Madera market page.

8. Redding, $385,000, 685 closings

At $385,000 the entry price is about 53 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 685 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 114 a month. About 88 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Redding market page.

9. Hemet, $385,000, 921 closings

At $385,000 the entry price is about 53 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 921 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 154 a month. Full detail is on the Hemet market page.

10. Seal Beach, $389,500, 378 closings

At $389,500 the entry price is about 53 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 378 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 63 a month. Full detail is on the Seal Beach market page.

11. Fresno, $395,000, 2,356 closings

At $395,000 the entry price is about 54 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 2,356 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 393 a month. About 89 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Fresno market page.

12. Visalia, $398,000, 792 closings

At $398,000 the entry price is about 55 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 792 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 132 a month. About 91 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Visalia market page.

13. Merced, $399,900, 682 closings

At $399,900 the entry price is about 55 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 682 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 114 a month. About 92 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Merced market page.

14. Bakersfield, $415,000, 2,113 closings

At $415,000 the entry price is about 57 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 2,113 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 352 a month. About 91 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Bakersfield market page.

15. Stockton, $419,000, 1,268 closings

At $419,000 the entry price is about 57 percent of the California median. Resideline tracked 1,268 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 211 a month. About 84 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Stockton market page.

How to use this list

Treat it as a shortlist, not an answer. A citywide median cannot price a specific address: property type, size, condition and location move a number far more than the city line does. Run any address on this list through Resideline for the comparable set behind its value.

Figures last updated August 23, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked.