Cost of living in Los Angeles, CA
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (12,927,614 people) ranks #3 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.
Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.
See all 149 cities
Price level, from cheaper to pricier.
- The Villages, FL 85.4
- McAllen, TX 85.9
- Springfield, MO 88.6
- Wichita, KS 88.9
- Jackson, MS 89.0
- Tulsa, OK 89.2
- Columbus, GA 89.3
- Little Rock, AR 89.4
- El Paso, TX 89.9
- Oklahoma City, OK 90.4
- Sioux Falls, SD 90.6
- Baton Rouge, LA 90.8
- Clarksville, TN 90.9
- Fargo, ND 90.9
- Killeen, TX 91.1
- Spartanburg, SC 91.1
- Fayetteville, AR 91.4
- Chattanooga, TN 91.5
- Toledo, OH 91.5
- Birmingham, AL 91.6
- Des Moines, IA 91.7
- Augusta, GA 91.9
- Omaha, NE 91.9
- Fayetteville, NC 92.0
- Winston-Salem, NC 92.0
- Jacksonville, NC 92.1
- Memphis, TN 92.2
- Kansas City, MO 92.5
- Fort Wayne, IN 92.6
- Knoxville, TN 92.6
- New Orleans, LA 92.6
- Dayton, OH 92.7
- Greensboro, NC 92.9
- Lexington, KY 92.9
- Huntsville, AL 93.1
- Louisville, KY 93.1
- Greenville, SC 93.3
- Akron, OH 93.4
- Billings, MT 93.5
- Myrtle Beach, SC 93.6
- Columbia, SC 93.7
- Cleveland, OH 93.9
- Daphne, AL 94.7
- Pittsburgh, PA 94.7
- San Antonio, TX 94.7
- St. Louis, MO 95.1
- Ocala, FL 95.2
- Savannah, GA 95.2
- Cincinnati, OH 95.4
- Albuquerque, NM 95.5
- Columbus, OH 95.5
- Grand Rapids, MI 95.5
- Indianapolis, IN 95.7
- Syracuse, NY 95.7
- Buffalo, NY 95.8
- Nashville, TN 96.3
- Wilmington, NC 96.4
- Asheville, NC 96.5
- Cheyenne, WY 96.5
- Gainesville, FL 96.7
- Milwaukee, WI 96.9
- Tucson, AZ 96.9
- Crestview, FL 97.0
- Rochester, NY 97.0
- Lakeland, FL 97.1
- Charlotte, NC 97.3
- Madison, WI 97.3
- Panama City, FL 97.3
- Durham, NC 97.6
- Pensacola, FL 97.7
- Richmond, VA 97.9
- Virginia Beach, VA 97.9
- Hilton Head Island, SC 98.0
- Austin, TX 98.1
- Provo, UT 98.2
- Raleigh, NC 98.2
- Prescott, AZ 98.3
- Boise, ID 98.4
- Houston, TX 98.6
- Harrisburg, PA 98.7
- Daytona Beach, FL 99.4
- Jacksonville, FL 99.5
- Albany, NY 99.6
- Allentown, PA 100.0
- Palm Bay, FL 100.0
- Atlanta, GA 100.1
- Greeley, CO 100.2
- Las Vegas, NV 100.2
- Port St. Lucie, FL 100.2
- Detroit, MI 100.3
- Ogden, UT 100.3
- Spokane, WA 100.3
- Norwich, CT 100.4
- Punta Gorda, FL 100.5
- Colorado Springs, CO 100.7
- Ann Arbor, MI 100.9
- Bakersfield, CA 100.9
- Burlington, VT 100.9
- Salt Lake City, UT 100.9
- Tampa, FL 100.9
- Charleston, SC 101.0
- Reno, NV 101.0
- Fort Collins, CO 101.1
- Orlando, FL 101.4
- Eugene, OR 101.6
- Providence, RI 101.8
- Portland, ME 101.9
- Fresno, CA 102.2
- Cape Coral, FL 102.3
- Sarasota, FL 102.4
- Worcester, MA 102.5
- Philadelphia, PA 102.6
- Hartford, CT 102.7
- Dallas, TX 103.1
- Naples, FL 103.2
- Trenton, NJ 103.2
- Phoenix, AZ 103.3
- Bend, OR 103.6
- Chicago, IL 103.6
- Olympia, WA 103.7
- Baltimore, MD 104.5
- New Haven, CT 104.6
- Minneapolis, MN 104.8
- Stockton, CA 105.1
- Boulder, CO 105.2
- Anchorage, AK 105.4
- Portland, OR 105.4
- Bremerton, WA 105.6
- Manchester, NH 105.7
- Denver, CO 105.8
- Riverside, CA 106.4
- Sacramento, CA 106.7
- Bridgeport, CT 106.9
- Santa Rosa, CA 107.8
- Boston, MA 108.3
- Vallejo, CA 108.5
- Santa Barbara, CA 108.8
- Washington, D.C. 108.9
- Salinas, CA 109.0
- Poughkeepsie, NY 109.4
- San Jose, CA 110.4
- Oxnard, CA 110.5
- Honolulu, HI 111.0
- Seattle, WA 111.1
- San Diego, CA 111.9
- New York, NY 112.6
- Los Angeles, CA 113.6
- Miami, FL 114.2
- San Francisco, CA 115.6
Compare Los Angeles with your city
See what you'd need to earn in Los Angeles to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from Riverside, CA, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), at about its median household income. Pick your own city and salary.
Equal salary in Los Angeles: $97,600
Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities
To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $97,600 in Los Angeles, CA to match $90,000 in Riverside, CA ($7,600 more), after 2026 taxes and local prices.
Single filer, W-2 salary. Both are in California, so state income tax is the same; neither city levies a resident income tax.
What things cost in Los Angeles
The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.
Taxes in Los Angeles
On a $95,000 salary (about the area's median household income), a single filer keeps $69,838 after 2026 federal tax ($12,070), Social Security and Medicare ($7,268) and California income tax ($4,590), plus $1,235 in state payroll programs.
Housing
| Measure | Los Angeles area |
|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,114/mo |
| Median home value | $908,500 |
| Median property tax | $6,011/yr |
| Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down) | $5,435 |
| Median household income | $96,405 |
Climate and jobs in Los Angeles
In the Los Angeles area the average January low is 49°F and the average July high 82°F, and the area has about 26 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 5.3% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $55,850 a year, 10% above the U.S. median.
| Climate | 1991–2020 average |
|---|---|
| January low | 49°F |
| July high | 82°F |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 26 a year |
| Precipitation | 14 in a year |
| Snowfall | 0 in a year |
| Jobs and pay | Metro area | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate, 2025 average | 5.3% | 4.3% |
| Median wage, all jobs (May 2025) | $55,850 | $50,980 |
| Wage and salary jobs (May 2025) | 6.3 million | 155.5 million |
Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Los Angeles Downtown USC Campus station (USW00093134), with snowfall from San Gabriel Fire Dept (USC00047785) because the main station doesn't record it. Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.
Retiring in Los Angeles
A single retiree spends about $3,763 a month here if they own their home outright, or $5,065 renting, based on typical spending for households 65 and older (BLS 2024) adjusted for local prices. See where your budget goes furthest.
Where people move to and from Los Angeles
- Los Angeles to Riverside
- Los Angeles to San Diego
- Los Angeles to San Francisco
- Los Angeles to New York
- Los Angeles to Las Vegas
- Los Angeles to Oxnard
- Los Angeles to Phoenix
- Los Angeles to Dallas
- Riverside to Los Angeles
- New York to Los Angeles
- San Francisco to Los Angeles
- San Diego to Los Angeles
- Oxnard to Los Angeles
- Las Vegas to Los Angeles
- Seattle to Los Angeles
- San Jose to Los Angeles
IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.
Natural hazard risk
FEMA rates the Los Angeles area among the highest for natural hazard risk (score 100 of 100), with expected losses of about $722 per resident per year. Disaster risk by county in California.
The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).
Frequently asked questions
What salary do you need to live in Los Angeles?
To match the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax, you need about $95,200 in Los Angeles. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $84,560, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $232,916.
Is Los Angeles expensive?
The Los Angeles metro area's price level is 113.6 (U.S. = 100), #3 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing price index is 170.4, 70% above the U.S. average.
Are people moving to Los Angeles?
Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Los Angeles had a net loss of about 44,575 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).
What is the weather like in Los Angeles?
In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Los Angeles area (Los Angeles Downtown USC Campus weather station), the average January low is 49°F and the average July high 82°F. The area has about 26 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 14 inches of precipitation a year and almost no snow.
What are jobs and pay like in Los Angeles?
The Los Angeles metro area's unemployment rate averaged 5.3% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $55,850 a year in May 2025, 10% above the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
What natural disasters affect Los Angeles?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the area among the highest overall (score 100). The highest relative risks are earthquake, riverine flooding, wildfire.
Compare Los Angeles with other cities
Moving from Los Angeles to…
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
- Bakersfield, CA
- Boise, ID
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
- Denver, CO
- Fresno, CA
- Honolulu, HI
- Houston, TX
- Las Vegas, NV
- Miami, FL
- Nashville, TN
- New York, NY
- Oxnard, CA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Portland, OR
- Riverside, CA
- Sacramento, CA
- San Antonio, TX
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- San Jose, CA
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Tampa, FL
- Washington, D.C.
Moving to Los Angeles from…
Cities with similar prices
- Miami, FL 114.2
- New York, NY 112.6
- San Diego, CA 111.9
- San Francisco, CA 115.6
- Seattle, WA 111.1
- Honolulu, HI 111.0
- Moving from California