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This is California’s most affordable zip code, study says

Ridgecrest, a city near Bakersfield and the Sequoia National Forest in Kern County, was considered to be the most affordable place to buy property in California, according to a new analysis.

A study from home warranty company American Shield Home determined which zip codes were the most affordable for buying property nationwide by analyzing Zillow home prices and data from the U.S. Census Bureau.


The study excluded zip codes with populations below 10,000, which eliminated smaller towns like Atherton from being included in the study.

The median home price in Ridgecrest is less than $300,000, a stark contrast from California’s median home price of $750,709, according to Zillow data.

The study also determined which zip codes were the least affordable in each state. Unsurprisingly, Beverly Hills’ famous 90210 zip code was the least affordable in California and nationwide.

The average cost of a home in Beverly Hills is over $3 million, Zillow data shows.  

Other California cities, like Santa Monica’s 90402, Los Angeles’ 90007, 90013 and 90004 and Berkeley’s 94704 were also deemed to be the least affordable zip codes to buy property nationwide.

The most affordable zip codes were located in Michigan, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.

None of the most affordable ZIP codes in the U.S. were in California.

The complete study can be viewed here.