CA's Top 10 'Most Affordable' Cities: List

CALIFORNIA — Bellyaching about the Golden State's cost of living is a favorite pastime of Californians across the state, but a recent SmartAsset analysis found residents of some areas might not have it quite so bad.

SmartAsset looked at factors such as average annual mortgage payment, median income and property taxes when determining which California cities were the most affordable.

California's average annual mortgage payment is about $17,300, but none of the top 10 most affordable cities surpassed $12,000, according to a SmartAsset statement. Closing costs, property taxes and homeowner's insurance costs were also lower in those areas.

The following are California's 10 most affordable cities, according to SmartAsset.

1. California City.
2. Madera Acres.
3. Imperial.
4. Ridgecrest.
5. Coalinga.
6. Barstow.
7. Homeland.
8. Spring Valley Lake.
9. Orosi.
10. Taft.

Click here to see the full list.

All of the cities are in Southern California or the San Joaquin Valley. Average annual mortgage payments in some parts of the San Francisco Bay Area — where some of California's priciest ZIP codes are located — were more than double the state average.

The cost of living may be lower in the 10 most affordable cities, but wages were lower there, too, according to SmartAsset.

California's median income was about $75,200, and only three cities in the top 10 saw higher pay: Madera Acres ($88,500), Imperial ($85,700) and Spring Valley Lake ($84,700).

Five cities on SmartAsset's list saw significantly lower median incomes: Homeland ($49,200), California City ($49,000), Taft ($45,200), Orosi ($40,700) and Barstow ($40,600).

View the complete SmartAsset analysis.