Most expensive counties by home value
Ranked by median home value (Census ACS B25077). Higher means homes typically appraise for more.
County is the right unit of analysis for what housing actually costs because home values vary more inside a state than between most states. The most expensive county in California is fifteen times the price of the cheapest. The Census ACS publishes the median home value in every county, sourced from how households actually answer the survey rather than from listing prices, and that makes it the most realistic apples-to-apples comparison available. This ranking sorts counties from that table, restricted to counties of at least 25,000 people so micro-counties with a few high-value second homes do not dominate. Three patterns produce most of the top results: dense coastal metros where land near jobs is scarce, mountain resort counties where supply is constrained by topography and zoning, and exclusive suburban counties built around top public-school districts. The dollar value reported is what owners say their home is worth and what comparable homes appraise for, not what listings are asking. Active listings can run materially higher in fast markets and lower in slow ones. Each entry links to the full county profile with property tax, owner cost, and rent comparison data.
Top 20: highest median home value
Bars show median home value reported in the Census ACS five-year average.
Top 50 sortable table
Click any column to sort. Click a county for the full cost-of-ownership profile.
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo County, CA | $1,441,300 | $8,637 | 19.7% | 754,250 |
| 2 | San Francisco County, CA | $1,348,700 | $8,835 | 19.1% | 851,036 |
| 3 | Santa Clara County, CA | $1,316,800 | $9,252 | 19.1% | 1,916,831 |
| 4 | Marin County, CA | $1,291,800 | $10,001 | 21.6% | 260,485 |
| 5 | New York County, NY | $1,104,000 | $10,001 | 14.8% | 1,645,867 |
| 6 | Alameda County, CA | $999,200 | $7,622 | 20.2% | 1,663,823 |
| 7 | Santa Cruz County, CA | $951,300 | $6,011 | 21.0% | 268,571 |
| 8 | Summit County, UT | $895,100 | $3,040 | 17.9% | 42,524 |
| 9 | Kings County, NY | $865,300 | $5,881 | 22.3% | 2,679,620 |
| 10 | Orange County, CA | $862,900 | $5,822 | 20.8% | 3,175,227 |
| 11 | Arlington County, VA | $833,300 | $7,427 | 17.6% | 235,845 |
| 12 | Honolulu County, HI | $832,200 | $2,368 | 20.9% | 1,010,100 |
| 13 | Maui County, HI | $800,100 | $1,413 | 19.6% | 164,765 |
| 14 | Napa County, CA | $794,500 | $5,545 | 20.6% | 137,384 |
| 15 | Contra Costa County, CA | $787,300 | $6,654 | 20.9% | 1,162,648 |
| 16 | King County, WA | $761,500 | $6,476 | 19.4% | 2,254,371 |
| 17 | Summit County, CO | $760,000 | $2,395 | 20.8% | 30,955 |
| 18 | Sonoma County, CA | $748,500 | $5,333 | 21.8% | 488,436 |
| 19 | Kauai County, HI | $742,900 | $1,679 | 18.9% | 73,511 |
| 20 | Los Angeles County, CA | $732,200 | $5,124 | 22.6% | 9,936,690 |
| 21 | Eagle County, CO | $728,400 | $2,908 | 20.3% | 55,650 |
| 22 | San Luis Obispo County, CA | $726,700 | $5,066 | 21.4% | 281,712 |
| 23 | San Diego County, CA | $725,200 | $5,214 | 22.0% | 3,289,701 |
| 24 | Ventura County, CA | $719,100 | $5,112 | 21.7% | 842,009 |
| 25 | Santa Barbara County, CA | $714,800 | $4,669 | 20.6% | 445,213 |
| 26 | District of Columbia, DC | $705,000 | $3,957 | 18.2% | 670,587 |
| 27 | San Benito County, CA | $703,200 | $5,803 | 23.8% | 64,753 |
| 28 | Monroe County, FL | $696,900 | $3,766 | 20.7% | 82,044 |
| 29 | Monterey County, CA | $683,700 | $4,494 | 19.9% | 437,609 |
| 30 | Queens County, NY | $677,700 | $5,887 | 22.4% | 2,360,826 |
| 31 | Boulder County, CO | $671,100 | $3,559 | 17.5% | 328,658 |
| 32 | Fairfax County, VA | $666,900 | $6,843 | 18.2% | 1,145,354 |
| 33 | Loudoun County, VA | $657,000 | $6,004 | 18.1% | 420,773 |
| 34 | Alexandria city, VA | $655,700 | $6,555 | 18.6% | 157,594 |
| 35 | Middlesex County, MA | $654,300 | $7,037 | 19.1% | 1,623,109 |
| 36 | Suffolk County, MA | $650,900 | $4,341 | 19.3% | 785,443 |
| 37 | Richmond County, NY | $637,100 | $5,844 | 22.3% | 492,925 |
| 38 | Douglas County, CO | $635,100 | $3,490 | 18.3% | 360,206 |
| 39 | Nassau County, NY | $633,800 | $10,001 | 22.4% | 1,389,160 |
| 40 | Placer County, CA | $627,100 | $5,333 | 20.7% | 406,608 |
| 41 | Elbert County, CO | $623,300 | $2,769 | 20.4% | 26,457 |
| 42 | Wasatch County, UT | $620,800 | $2,989 | 17.6% | 35,009 |
| 43 | Westchester County, NY | $619,000 | $10,001 | 20.8% | 997,904 |
| 44 | Norfolk County, MA | $612,100 | $6,840 | 19.6% | 722,112 |
| 45 | Williamson County, TN | $611,100 | $2,770 | 16.3% | 248,897 |
| 46 | El Dorado County, CA | $597,600 | $4,223 | 21.1% | 191,713 |
| 47 | Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT | $595,600 | $9,070 | 20.4% | 620,666 |
| 48 | Snohomish County, WA | $592,800 | $4,883 | 20.3% | 828,337 |
| 49 | Montgomery County, MD | $588,900 | $5,149 | 17.9% | 1,056,910 |
| 50 | Broomfield County, CO | $581,600 | $3,602 | 16.5% | 73,946 |
Methodology
- Source: Census ACS 5-year B25077, median value of owner-occupied housing units.
- Counties below 25,000 residents are excluded so the list reflects places where most readers might actually live.
- Median home value reflects what owners report and what comparable homes appraise for, not active listing prices. Listings can run materially higher in fast markets and lower in slow ones.
- The list does not normalize for local income or wages. A high-cost county is not automatically unaffordable for residents who earn local wages.
- For a county ranking that does normalize cost against income, see most affordable counties.