California's allure can come with a steep price tag. The median home price, after all, is $777,566.
But tucked away in some small, seemingly unchanged towns, there are still places in the state that can be surprisingly affordable. World Atlas rounded up a list of the cheapest beautiful towns to live in California.
"None of these places lacks scenery or historic interest. Their lower prices likely reflect a mix of remoteness, smaller local labor markets, population trends, housing stock, and property risks; commuting patterns and economic conditions vary substantially by town," World Atlas said.
Though some of the towns' remoteness limits access to higher-paying jobs and buyer demand, it's not a universal trait, according to World Atlas.
"For buyers
who can work locally or remotely, or tolerate longer drives, these places offer lower purchase prices and notable scenery," World Atlas said.
Here's a closer look at the towns included on the publication's roundup, each with its own "unique draw."
Dunsmuir
Dunsmuir is nestled in a canyon on the Upper Sacramento River in Siskiyou County, about 50 miles north of Redding, World Atlas said.
The town's slogan, "Home of the Best Water on Earth," is a nod to the town's drinking water, which is "naturally filtered through volcanic rock on Mt. Shasta. Dunsmuir’s water," Visit California said, adding that the water "is so pure that it doesn’t require additional treatment."
"Public fountains around town run continuously, so you can taste it yourself," World Atlas said.
And maybe even better than the purity of the water? An affordable home: The median sale price of a home in Dunsmuir was $313,000 over the last three months ending in June, according to Redfin. That figure, though, is pulled from a small pool of homes sold.
In town, you can find the Dunsmuir Historic Commercial District, which is centered on Sacramento Avenue, the publication said. The district "is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and keeps its early-1900s storefronts."
Hedge Creek Falls, which "drops into a grotto that residents can walk behind," is a short walk from downtown, and "the Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens trace the riverbank with plantings of dogwood and Shasta lilies," World Atlas said.
Though jobs in town are limited, Dunsmuir does have an Amtrak station, which offers residents "a transit link that most towns this size do not have," World Atlas said.
Susanville
Susanville is along the Susan River in northeastern California in Lassen County, about 85 miles northeast of Reno, Nevada.
"Historic Susanville keeps close ties to its landscape and its past. ... This small town in the state’s Shasta Cascade region, located about two hours east of Redding, is delightfully untouched by the rush," Visit California said.
The city without the everyday bustle also comes with the lowest price tag among the places listed in World Atlas' list: The median sale price of a home in Susanville was $270,000 over the last three months ending in June, according to Redfin.
Additionally, the city's population has shrunk, World Atlas said. In 2020, the population stood at 16,728, but, per recent estimates, that figure is now about 12,400 residents.
"Much of that decline followed the closure of California Correctional Center in June 2023, a state prison whose incarcerated population had been counted in the city total," according to World Atlas.
The historic 1923 Lassen County Courthouse, "a neoclassical building on the National Register of Historic Places," sits in the city's downtown, the publication said.
"The Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail follows an old Southern Pacific rail line for 25 miles along the Susan River canyon, crossing a dozen bridges and passing through two tunnels on an easy grade that draws hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders," according to World Atlas.
About 15 miles north, residents can enjoy Eagle Lake, home to Eagle Lake rainbow trout, "a subspecies since raised in hatcheries and stocked in other California waters," World Atlas said.
For breathtaking views, residents need only to take about an hour and a half drive to Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Quincy
Quincy sits in the "American Valley in the northern Sierra Nevada, just south of where the Cascade Range begins," World Atlas said.
"This enchanting, quaint town has a walkable, historic downtown, serves as the county seat, and is the largest community (in Plumas County)," according to the county's website.
And more than its charm, Quincy comes at an affordable price. According to Redfin, the median sale price of a home in Quincy was $380,000 over the last 3 months ending in June.
"Downtown is built around the 1921 Plumas County Courthouse, a four-story building with a marble staircase and a one-ton bronze-and-glass chandelier," World Atlas said.
The Plumas County Museum sits just behind and holds the area's Maidu, mining, and railroad history, according to World Atlas.
"A self-guided Heritage Walk brochure available there leads residents past 61 preserved Victorian storefronts and homes over a roughly two-mile loop. Gansner Park, along Spanish Creek, gives the town a shaded riverside green space, and the Feather River Land Trust's Leonhardt Trail opens onto the wide meadows of American Valley just outside downtown," the publication said.
Residents looking for even more natural beauty can find it at Plumas-Eureka State Park, about 25 miles southeast, near Johnsville, World Atlas said.
"The former gold-mining site keeps a museum, a stamp mill, and a miners' bunkhouse," World Atlas said.
The community college in town, Feather River College, offers associate degrees and a small number of bachelor's programs.
Oroville
Oroville, a city of about 19,700, "sits where the Feather River flows out of the Sierra Nevada foothills into the Sacramento Valley, in Butte County," World Atlas said.
The median sale price of a home in Oroville was $289,000 over the last 3 months, according to Redfin.
"Nestled at the gateway to the Sierra Nevada, Oroville is where adventure meets small-town charm," Visit Oroville said. "From the sparkling waters of Lake Oroville to our vibrant festivals, historic downtown, and breathtaking outdoor escapes, every season brings something new to explore."
Lake Oroville is one of the town's defining features, "the second-largest reservoir in the state by storage capacity," according to World Atlas.
Residents can enjoy the state recreation area a few minutes from downtown, which offers boating, fishing, and lakeside camping, World Atlas said.
"Feather Falls, shut for years after the 2020 North Complex Fire, reopened in the fall of 2025 with rebuilt bridges and a rebuilt overlook," according to World Atlas.
During the spring, residents can enjoy "one of the state's best wildflower displays" at North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, a basalt mesa 20 minutes from town, World Atlas said.
In downtown, you can enjoy the stock of "Victorian-era buildings, including the 1856 C.F. Lott Home, which is open for tours," the publication said.
Of note, though, is that the city's "median household income is below the state average, and poverty rates run higher than in the rest of Butte County," World Atlas.
At the same time, the publication said, "the low cost of entry and the scenery around Lake Oroville are hard to match at this price."
Lakeport
Lakeport "sits on the western shore of Clear Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake entirely within California and one of the oldest lakes in North America," World Atlas said.
The city is "home to California’s cleanest air, America’s oldest lake, and the friendliest folks on Earth," the city's website said.
All those amenities come with an affordable price tag: The median sale price of a home in Lakeport was $356,000 over the last three months ending in June, according to Redfin.
"Downtown centers on Courthouse Park and the 1870 Old Lake County Courthouse, a brick building on the National Register of Historic Places that now holds the Historic Courthouse Museum and one of the largest collections of Eastern Pomo basketry in the world," World Atlas said.
During the summer, residents can enjoy a summer concert series at Library Park, World Atlas said. A few blocks away, the Soper Reese Theatre stages the Lake County Symphony and community productions, according to World Atlas.
"The surrounding hills are part of Lake County's growing wine region, with vineyard views a short drive from town. ... The tradeoff here is a smaller job market than the coast or the Bay Area, with tourism, agriculture, and county government as the main employers," according to World Atlas.
Fort Bragg
"With its century-plus history as a military garrison and then an unassuming lumber town, Fort Bragg skirted under the radar of most Mendocino County visitors for a long time," Visit California said. "But in more recent years, word has gotten out how much there is to do here: hiking, biking, dining, shopping, sampling fresh local beer, and, of course, taking in the gorgeous North Coast."
The cost of a home in the city is well below the state average: In Fort Bragg, the median sale price of a home was $499,000 over the last three months ending in June, according to Redfin.
The city is home to the picturesque "Glass Beach, a former dump site where decades of tide action smoothed broken glass into sea glass, draws residents to the tide pools at low tide," according to World Atlas.
Additionally, World Atlas said, "the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens cover 47 acres of trails through redwoods and coastal bluff gardens."
Residents can also enjoy the Skunk Train, which "carries passengers from downtown into the redwoods on a line built in 1885 to move logs to the mill, with scheduled passenger service dating to 1904," World Atlas said.
Just north of town, residents can find MacKerricher State Park, complete with "tide pools, a seal-watching point, and miles of beach and dune trail," World Atlas said.
"Major metropolitan job markets are a long way off, though Ukiah, the regional center inland, is roughly an hour and 20 minutes away by car," the publication said.
Kernville
Kernville, an unincorporated town with fewer than a thousand residents, "sits on the Kern River in the southern Sierra Nevada inside Sequoia National Forest, roughly an hour northeast of Bakersfield," World Atlas said.
Buying a home in the historic mountain town is affordable compared to the rest of the state. The median sale price of a home inKernville was $329,000 over the last 3 months ending in June, according to Redfin.
"Living in Kernville offers residents a suburban rural mix feel and most residents own their homes," according to the rating and review website Niche.
The Kern Valley Museum offers the history of the town's mining years, World Atlas said.
"Each spring, the river above town, a designated Wild and Scenic stretch, hosts whitewater races that pull rafters and kayakers to Riverside Park," the publication said.
Residents can trek about 15 miles south to find Silver City Ghost Town in Bodfish, which houses more than 20 "original buildings moved in from area mining camps and held in a deliberately weathered state," World Atlas said.
"Lake Isabella is the heart of the local recreation economy with boating and fishing, and the Trail of 100 Giants, a sequoia grove about 45 miles north, is a summer-season side trip subject to weather and road conditions," according to the publication.
Julian
Julian is a historic 1870s gold-mining mountain town, about an hour east of San Diego.
"The San Diego County town of about 1,500 sits at 4,226 feet in the Cuyamaca Mountains, high enough for occasional winter snow in a county better known for surfing beaches," World Atlas said.
The median sale price of a home in Julian was $517,000 over the last three months ending in June, according to Redfin. The price tag of living here is the steepest on World Atlas' list but still well below the state's median home price.
"Julian's Main Street survives almost intact from its 1870s gold rush, with wooden boardwalks and brick storefronts now filled with apple pie shops, including the Julian Pie Company and Julian Cafe and Bakery, a legacy of the orchards planted after the gold ran out," World Atlas said.
The Eagle and High Peak Mine is a short drive away and "offers tours through original 1870s mining tunnels," the publication said. The Julian Pioneer Museum tells the history of the town's Gold Rush and pioneer era.
"The 1897 Julian Hotel is listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places; it was built for Albert Robinson, a formerly enslaved man, and his wife, Margaret, and it still takes guests as the Julian Gold Rush Hotel," according to World Atlas.
The entire town is a California Historical Landmark.
"Outside downtown, Volcan Mountain Preserve and the surrounding Cuyamaca Mountains offer hiking with views back toward the desert, and Lake Cuyamaca adds fishing and boating 15 minutes away," World Atlas said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: World Atlas names California's most affordable beautiful towns
