Need another reminder that California housing is really expensive?
Just look at PropertyShark’s annual list of the nation’s most expensive ZIP codes, which includes 69 Golden State neighborhoods among the 122 members of this priciest-home club. That’s easily the No. 1 count, well ahead of New York (20), New Jersey (seven), Connecticut (seven) and Massachusetts (five).
PropertyShark’s ranking of high-end communities tracks pricing in ZIP codes with five or more sales in the nine months ending in September 2026. The math is the median pricing from sales of houses, townhomes, condominiums and duplexes. The report excluded ZIPs in Montana, Texas, Utah and Wyoming because tracking sales values in those states is difficult.
You could also look at California’s lofty pricing this way: ZIP codes from 10 California counties made the list. Only 25 counties in the rest of the U.S. had neighborhoods graded among the nation’s most expensive.
Los Angeles County led the list with 15 ZIP codes. No. 2 was Santa Clara County at 13. Orange County was No. 3 at 12. Other Golden State counties with ZIPs on the list included San Mateo (7), San Diego (6), Marin (5), Monterey, San Francisco, and Contra Costa (3), and Santa Barbara (2).
Now, you can view the Golden State’s sky-high rankings as another sign of how expensive it is to live in California. You could also see it as a symbol of the state’s wealth.
Or perhaps, ponder some minor progress on affordability. PropertyShark noted that 57% of this year’s ZIPs on the list were from California, down from a peak of 73% in 2019.
Either way, consider another California distinction. The nation’s costliest ZIP code for 2026 is a Golden State neighborhood: the Bay Area’s Atherton 94027 at $10.7 million.
Here are the next 19 Golden State ZIPs on this high-end housing list:
– Newport Beach 92657 at $6.1 million, No. 5.
– Newport Beach 92661 at $5.8 million, No. 6.
– Beverly Hills 90210 at $5.4 million, No. 8.
– Santa Barbara 93108 at $5.3 million, No. 9.
– Los Altos 94022 at $4.88 million, No. 10.
– Los Altos 94024 at $4.71 million, No. 12.
– Rancho Santa Fe 92067 at $4.44 million, No. 14.
– Santa Monica 90402 at $4.35 million, No. 16..– Palo Alto 94301 at $4.3 million, No. 18.
– Newport Beach 92625 at $4.26 million, No. 19.
– Portola Valley 94028 at $4.25 million, No. 20.
– Ross 94957 at $4.2 million, No. 21.
– Newport Beach 92662 at $4.04 million, No. 22.
– Stinson Beach 94970 at $4.03 million, No. 23.
– Diablo 94528 at $4.02 million, No. 24.
– Hillsborough/Burlingame 94010 at $4 million, No. 25.
– Los Gatos 95030 at $3.8 million, No. 27.
– Saratoga 95070 at $3.8 million, No. 27.
– Manhattan Beach 90266 at $3.5 million, No. 36.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
- Try Jonathan Lansner’s Substack collection of economic trends. CLICK HERE!