California · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area

Buying a home in Compton, California

In Compton, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $580,200, Los Angeles County's effective property tax rate is 0.68%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $11,266 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,664 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Compton home costs, fact by fact

About Compton

Median gross rent in Compton is $1,664 a month, and 56.4% of homes are owner-occupied. Los Angeles County, where the effective property tax rate (median tax as a share of home value) is 0.68%, has a HUD two-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,964.

Reading the Compton figures

Compton's owner-estimated median of $580,200 is lower than the California median of $770,700, and lower than the Los Angeles County median of $834,200. Within the group of covered California cities, Los Angeles reads $921,200. Ontario shows $607,600, Pomona comes in at $593,800, and Fontana reads $586,800, with Riverside just under at $584,800. Sacramento reports $506,300 while Moreno Valley sits lower still, at $503,700, so Compton sits in a crowded middle band. Manteca reports $589,900, and Vallejo has $589,500 on its fiche. Those figures place the city only slightly below the next band up. These are owners' estimates, not sale prices.

Here the tax figures matter. Los Angeles County's effective rate is 0.68%, which puts annual property tax for the median home at $5,675. Because Compton's own value is lower than the county median, a buyer should check the specific assessment, since the county bill is built from every community in the county and may not describe a particular house.

On rent, Compton reads low for its band. Typical rent is $1,664 a month. Ontario's rent reads $2,030, Fontana's runs to $1,839, Riverside's to $1,914, and Los Angeles shows $1,933, so Compton sits lower than each of them. HUD's Fair Market Rent benchmark for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area is $2,964, a federal reference figure and not a market median, far above the city's median rent. Owners occupy 56.4% of homes, while Los Angeles shows 36%, Ontario shows 58%, and Fontana reaches 66.8%. Menifee, at 80.2%, shows the highest share among the cities named here, and Arden-Arcade, at 46.2%, a lower one.

Financing carries the largest cost. The 32,309 loans in Los Angeles County's 2025 filings carry a midpoint origination outlay of $11,266. The interquartile range runs from $7,619 to $18,640, so the spread between the low and the high end is wide and depends on the loan rather than the city. Compton has 91,129 residents, fewer than Manteca's 94,292 and Jurupa Valley's 108,154. It lies in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area, which ranks 2nd nationally with 12,927,614 people. A buyer weighing a purchase here against the 104 covered California cities should read value, tax and loan cost together.

A last cross-reading ties value to rent for the cities around Compton. Fontana pairs a $586,800 estimate with $1,839 in rent, Riverside pairs $584,800 with $1,914, and Jurupa Valley pairs $574,600 with $1,741. Vallejo reads $589,500 with rent of $2,073, and Manteca $589,900 with $2,065. Moreno Valley, at $503,700, has rent of $2,135, so its rent exceeds Compton's although its value is lower. Against that set Compton shows a higher value than several cities and a lower rent than most of them. The pairing does not say which place is the better purchase; it only places Compton's figures among comparable cities.

Calculate for California

If you buy

California state transfer tax

California has no state transfer tax; counties and cities may charge one.

Price$770,700
State transfer taxnot computed
Who paysSet by the purchase contract

Default price: the California median value of owner-occupied homes, $770,700 (Census ACS 2025). Not computed: No state tax. The tax is set by county and city, so it cannot be computed from the state alone. Who pays: Neither the state statute nor the City of Los Angeles FAQ assigns the tax; the purchase contract and escrow instructions decide. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. California transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: California state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Compton

How much is property tax in Compton?

Homeowners in Los Angeles County pay a median $5,675 a year in property tax, 0.68% of the county median home value of $834,200 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Compton?

Home-purchase mortgages in Los Angeles County carried median total loan costs of $11,266 in 2025; half of the 32,309 loans fell between $7,619 and $18,640 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Compton?

California has no state transfer tax. Counties may charge $0.55 per $500 of value under the Documentary Transfer Tax Act, and cities such as Los Angeles add their own, with Measure ULA adding 4% or 5.5% on very high-priced sales.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Compton?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Compton ($580,200) equals 29.1 years of the median gross rent ($1,664 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Compton?

Across California, the main hazards for home insurance are earthquake, wildfire, flood and landslide, and the insurer of last resort is California FAIR Plan. A standard California homeowners policy does not cover earthquake damage; insurers must offer earthquake coverage (Insurance Code 10081), and the FAIR Plan sells limited fire coverage up to $3 million for residential policyholders.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

California rules that apply in Compton

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Sources

California · All states · Federal guides