Last updated 2026-06-12 ยท MovePlan Editorial Team
World-class weather and jobs, with smarter value if you know where to look.
1. San Diego: Best overall
2. Sacramento: Best value
3. San Francisco: Best for careers
4. Los Angeles: Best for big-city life
5. Long Beach: Best LA-area value
6. Irvine: Best for families
7. Pasadena: Best for charm
8. Santa Barbara: Best coastal living
9. Fresno: Best for affordability
10. San Jose: Best for tech jobs
California offers the most varied lifestyles in the country, from beach towns to wine country to inland cities where your dollar stretches further. The prices are the famous catch, so this ranking balances quality of life against where the value actually is. Here are the 10 best places to live in California, ranked.