California by the numbers
In California, the median worker earns $56,940 a year, the typical home is worth $695,400 and carries $4,926 of property tax, and the average household pays $160 a month for electricity at 33.25¢ per kilowatt-hour.
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Energy
California's rate is not primarily about the cost of generating electricity. Wholesale energy in CAISO is not unusually expensive, since the state has enormous solar output, substantial hydro, geothermal and one remaining nuclear station. The cost is in everything wrapped around it.
Wildfire dominates. After utility equipment was found responsible for catastrophic fires, the state's utilities undertook the largest grid-hardening programme in American history: burying thousands of miles of distribution line, replacing conductors, installing weather stations and fast-trip protection, and expanding vegetation management enormously. They also pay for wildfire insurance and contribute to a state wildfire fund. All of it recovers through rates.
Layered on top are transmission investment to reach remote renewables, the cost of past long-term contracts, and a set of public purpose programmes covering low-income discounts, efficiency and the California Solar Initiative's legacy, all funded through the bill. The state has also recovered rooftop solar's shifted costs from remaining customers, an effect that grows as more customers install panels.
California's rate was essentially flat year over year, which after several years of sharp increases is itself notable.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, California households used 488 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $160. At the state median wage that is about 5.8 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, gas is still cheaper to run than a heat pump here, by about $11.97 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median California worker earned $56,940 in 2024, 15% above the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | 5.72× | $35,770 |
| Media and Communication Workers, All Other | 4.35× | $97,590 |
| Marriage and Family Therapists | 4.16× | $63,780 |
| Plasterers and Stucco Masons | 3.42× | $60,370 |
| Counselors, All Other | 3.41× | $47,010 |
Property tax
The median California homeowner pays $4,926 a year on a home worth $695,400, an effective rate of 0.71% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 56 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in California run at 110.7 where the national average is 100, ranking it #1 of 51. Goods sit at 106.1, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 154.3, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $56,940 therefore buys what $51,436 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (115.6) , Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (113.6) , Napa (112.6) , San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad (111.9) , Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura (110.5) .
Housing
House prices in California fell 0.3% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +76.1%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Metro areas tracked here: Stockton-Lodi (+2.0%) , Fresno (+1.3%) , San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad (+0.2%) , Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura (-0.2%) , Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom (-0.3%) .
Who supplies the power
36 utilities report residential service in California, together serving 9.1 million customers. Retail choice limited.
California: common questions
What does it cost to live in California?
Prices overall run at 110.7 against a national average of 100, with rents at 154.3. The typical home is worth $695,400 and carries $4,926 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.71% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $160 a month at 33.25¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $56,940.
What is the property tax rate in California?
The effective rate is 0.71% of home value, from a median bill of $4,926. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 56 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in California?
The median wage of $56,940 buys what $51,436 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line California falls on.
Is California expensive for electricity?
It ranks #2 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 33.25¢ per kilowatt-hour, +80.3% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 20 of 51, because households there use 488 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in California?
$56,940 across all occupations, about $27.38 an hour, covering 18,057,850 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in California?
36 utilities report residential service, the largest being Southern California Edison Co with 3.2 million customers. Retail choice limited.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources