California Is Home To 5 Of The Most Expensive Cities In The US

From aspiring actors in Los Angeles to Dust Bowl migrant farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, California has a long history of drawing people west in search of opportunity. In the mid-1800s, it's the place where pioneer trails ended in gold mines, with the Mother Lode giving way to the Mother Road — Route 66 — decades later. The state is home to the most U.S. national parks, but with the demand for jobs and homes exceeding the supply, not everyone has found the American dream to be unattainable in California. That could even hold true for travelers who just dream of visiting until they price it out and realize how much a trip would set them back. According to the online real estate brokerage, Redfin, the five most expensive U.S. cities in 2025 were all in California, with LA topping the list, followed by San Diego, Anaheim, San Francisco, and San Jose.

In a sense, the gold rush never ended for these cities, some of which are among the places with the highest tourist taxes in the world. They weren't the only California cities to show up on Redfin's list, either, since Riverside and Sacramento ranked as the seventh and ninth most expensive U.S. cities, respectively. The brokerage arrived at its ranking by comparing cities "where typical housing costs exceed 30% of the area's median monthly income," and this "gap between home prices and local wages" makes the real estate listings unaffordable.

For travelers who aren't exactly looking to buy a house in California, the higher cost of living can still inflate expenses like transportation, food, and entertainment. That's what we'll be digging into here as we take a closer look at how the Golden State lives up to its gilded nickname, with the prices you'll encounter in these five cities. The money talk isn't meant to discourage travel to California, but it helps to know what you can realistically expect to pay when vacationing there.

Coming from Branson, Missouri, where a domestic beer averages $3.75 (per GoBankingRates), you might experience some serious sticker shock when you get to Los Angeles, where it's about $8.50 for the same drink. Redfin cites "the necessity of a car and pricey groceries" as two reasons why the cost of living in LA is 49% higher than the national average. While supermarket tourism can be cheaper than restaurant dining in general, don't expect to wander into a Ralph's grocery store like the Big Lebowski and write the cashier a check for 69 cents in LA. There are discount supermarkets like Trader Joe's in town, but this is also a place where you'd pay $13 for a four-pack of hard-boiled eggs at the luxury grocer Erewhon.

You know it's gotten bad when it's too expensive to even shoot most movies and TV shows in the entertainment capital of the world anymore. Sightseers in LA may still gravitate to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but this iconic California hotspot was ranked the world's worst tourist destination. The glamor has worn off, and the local film economy has been suffering as productions flee LA for places where they can get better tax breaks. For this reason, Hollywood has been likened to the next Detroit insofar as it's becoming a symbol of American industrial decline, with show business seemingly going the way of the automotive industry.

That hasn't stopped the local government from levying a 12 to 14% transient occupancy tax on nightly room rates at hotels, making LA one of the cities with the highest tourist tax worldwide (via Time Out). In the face of all these expenses, the best way to save money on popular Los Angeles attractions for some tourists might be an all-inclusive Go City pass. Among other things, you could use the pass to do a hop-on, hop-off bus tour, which would help mitigate the necessity of a car, at least.

In San Diego, the cost of living is 45% above the national average, according to Redfin. That puts it slightly below the other four destinations on this list, though it's million-dollar homes and $3,000 apartments still make it one of the most expensive U.S. cities to live. That rubs off on travel expenses in San Diego, which are by no means cheap, either. GoBankingRates estimates that two adults visiting for three nights would spend $558 on meals and $335 for a hotel in San Diego.

While you're planning your perfect one-day San Diego Zoo itinerary, keep in mind that the zoo alone is $78 for adults and $68 for kids. As one of America's largest zoos (in terms of both acreage and number of animals), the experience it offers may be greater than that of your local zoo. However, that one-day admission price — which is discounted to $73 for adults and $63 for kids on value days — doesn't cover any of the upgraded experiences on offer. The cheapest of the "wildlife adventures," an early morning walking tour through Panda Ridge before it opens, is $96, meaning you'd pay more for it than your actual zoo ticket. VIP experiences, such as a private or semi-private tour, start at $760 and $449 per person, respectively.

If you bought a ticket to SeaWorld San Diego during its spring break sale, you might get away with paying only $69.99 for one-day admission to the park. The regular price is $126.99, while a 3-for-1 ticket to SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park runs $172. Surprisingly, despite past controversy surrounding its orcas in wake of the documentary "Blackfish," SeaWorld still isn't above charging guests $79.99 for an up-close encounter with killer whales.

The cost of living in Anaheim is 56% higher than the national average, per Redfin, which notes that entertainment, transportation, and grocery prices contribute to the city's expensive profile. In Orange County, where Anaheim is located, the brokerage puts the average movie ticket and gallon of gas at $17.39 and $4.48, respectively, with the national average being $12.91 and $3.06. If nothing else, this price ratio helps illuminate the many media reports of Disneyland employees living in cars and motels, as they're unable to afford Anaheim's $2,000-plus rent bills.

There are things to do in Anaheim other than Disneyland, but the resort is the county's largest employer and the city's biggest tourist draw. For a family of four (with one child under 10), Mouse Hacking estimates that a budget Disneyland Resort trip for four nights would run $5,891 in 2026. That's cutting out expenses like park-hopper tickets, most Lightning Lane passes, and anything other than quick-service meals. According to this model, you'd still spend $200 alone to get from the airport to Disneyland (and back) if you're flying through LAX and using Uber.

That may be a conservative estimate as well. Speaking from personal experience, even a family of three that's under the baggage allowance for one of the big three U.S. airlines might need a larger UberXL vehicle with more trunk space. A sample search on our end for an UberXL from LAX to Disneyland at a time when prices were lower than usual yielded a $97.16 option (one-way). For a round trip — with a 20% tip for your driver both ways — that would come out to $233.18. There are less expensive airport shuttles like Prime Time Services, which offers a $54.97 express ride to Disneyland, but if you're driving yourself, the resort charges $40 a day for parking. With the closure of the local ART bus system in March 2026, the cost of transportation in Anaheim will likely only increase.

Like San Diego, San Francisco boasts million-dollar homes and $3,000 apartments, which are somewhat offset by it having one of the highest median wages in the country. That might be good news if you're a tech worker who can afford to live there. Travelers, on the other hand, will find that San Francisco has an even higher transient occupancy tax than Los Angeles, making it second only to Honolulu as the city with the steepest tourist tax in the world. Time Out notes that its 14% rate for hotel stays under 30 days amounts to almost $30 per night in taxes.

GoBankingRates estimates that a hotel for three nights in San Francisco would be $188, based on "the average cost of the three cheapest hotels within five miles" of the city. You could easily pay that for a single night if you want to stay somewhere nicer or more conveniently located. After discounts, with taxes and fees included, our search of Hotels.com yielded the same price for one night at the two-star Marina Motel, situated between Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge. Rates at Hotel Julian, the historic hotel featured in Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo," start at $89 a night, but that could also add up (to a number that's appropriately dizzying) when you factor in the aforementioned $30 in tourist taxes, plus other expenses like food.

Two adults in San Francisco for three nights would spend roughly $713 on meals, says GoBankingRates. The site lists a domestic beer here as $8, which is only 50 cents cheaper than one in L.A. As for transportation, the cable car is a fun and iconic way to explore San Francisco, but a ticket for a single ride with no transfers costs $9. A better money-saving option is the $15 one-day pass, which covers local buses and rail lines, too.

We've all heard the old Dionne Warwick song, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Today, a better question for travelers might be, "Can you afford San Jose?" As part of Silicon Valley, the city commands the highest house and rent prices in America, per Redfin, which notes that the cost of living here is a whopping 81% above the national average. TrueParity adds that "high-paying jobs" and a "typical household income [that's] more than double the national average" help drive costs up. You might feel the effect of that when forking over $38 for a science museum ticket to the Tech Interactive or window-shopping in luxury boutiques along the palm-tree-lined Santana Row.

In San Jose, you can also get lost in the bizarre history of the Winchester Mystery House — the city's top tourist attraction on Tripadvisor, based on traveler favorites. Expect to pay about $40 an hour to explore this 160-room mansion's maze-like interior, which was supposedly built to confound ghosts. An admission ticket for a 65-minute guided tour of the house varies in price depending on date and demand, but it could be anywhere from $42.85 ("less expensive") to $48.20 ("more expensive") once you tack on the convenience fee (and they do). Discounts are offered for seniors, active military, and first responders, and everyone else can get 10% off one ticket by signing up for the newsletter.

That said, even a digital tour of the Winchester Mystery House, where you're only vicariously visiting it online, would cost you something. To go beyond where Google Street View ends and see inside the house, you'd still need to pay $8.99 for the 360-degree virtual tour or $5.99 for a 72-hour "rental" of the video access tour (which is $13.99 to purchase). Leave it to the tech-savvy haunts of San Jose to find a way to charge people who aren't even setting foot in the city.