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

Buying a home in Palmdale, California

In Palmdale, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $471,000, 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 $1,802 a month.

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

Palmdale home costs, fact by fact

About Palmdale

The city has 162,536 residents and lies in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, home to 12,927,614 people.

Reading the Palmdale figures

Palmdale is one of the lower-valued cities Payotte covers in California. Palmdale owners set their homes at $471,000, well beneath the state figure of $770,700, and no sale price lies behind that figure. Within the set, it sits below Menifee posted at $537,300, Santa Maria posted at $531,700, Sacramento posted at $506,300, Moreno Valley posted at $503,700, Rialto posted at $487,900 and Clovis posted at $482,700, and above Chico posted at $468,100, Lancaster posted at $446,600, Modesto posted at $442,700, Stockton posted at $440,900, San Bernardino posted at $422,300 and Hesperia posted at $409,000. Los Angeles, at $921,200, sits far above.

Palmdale tenants pay $1,802 monthly. That is higher than Rialto posted at $1,759 and Sacramento posted at $1,779, plus Clovis posted at $1,792, Lancaster posted at $1,764 and Modesto posted at $1,690, but lower than Menifee posted at $2,110, Moreno Valley posted at $2,135, Santa Maria posted at $1,925 and Los Angeles posted at $1,933. Chico posted at $1,488, San Bernardino posted at $1,508, Stockton posted at $1,577 and Hesperia posted at $1,590 all sit lower. Ownership is 66.2%, the same share as Rialto, and above Clovis coming in at 65.4%, Moreno Valley coming in at 63.3%, Lancaster coming in at 60.4% and Modesto coming in at 58.9%. Menifee coming in at 80.2% and Hesperia coming in at 67.2% are higher. Los Angeles, at 36%, is the opposite case.

Under HUD's schedule for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, the smaller home is set at $2,964 and the larger at $3,760. Palmdale's $1,802 survey rent lies well under both, but the number is a federal reference level and not a median of what tenants pay.

The county reading is Los Angeles County: a yearly property tax median of $5,675, reflecting an effective rate of 0.68%; built on a county median of $834,200, well above Palmdale's own value. The county's 32,309 loans in 2025 had a median cost of $11,266; the lower end of the central range was $7,619 and the upper end was $18,640. A buyer in Palmdale should ask for a written quote on the specific loan before comparing costs.

Counting heads, Palmdale has 162,536 people and is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area, holding 2nd in the nation, with 12,927,614 people. Among the cities named above, it is larger than Menifee coming in at 117,041, Santa Maria coming in at 111,346, Rialto coming in at 104,918 and Hesperia coming in at 101,836, close to Lancaster coming in at 167,426, and smaller than Moreno Valley coming in at 213,919, Modesto coming in at 220,592 and Stockton coming in at 324,975. Menifee, at $537,300, asks $2,110 and counts 80.2% owners, while Sacramento, at $506,300, asks $1,779 with only 51.7% owning.

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 Palmdale

How much is property tax in Palmdale?

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 Palmdale?

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 Palmdale?

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 Palmdale?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Palmdale ($471,000) equals 21.8 years of the median gross rent ($1,802 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Palmdale?

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 Palmdale

Other large cities in California

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Sources

California · All states · Federal guides