California · Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro area

Buying a home in Rancho Cordova, California

In Rancho Cordova, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $477,600, Sacramento County's effective property tax rate is 0.73%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $7,223 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,787 a month.

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

Rancho Cordova home costs, fact by fact

About Rancho Cordova

Rancho Cordova has 84,113 residents and lies in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro area. Median gross rent is $1,787 a month, and 58.2% of homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Rancho Cordova figures

Rancho Cordova sits at the other end of the scale from the coastal California cities: owners value homes at $477,600, far under the state's $770,700. Still, the covered cities around that figure form a crowd. Menifee reports $537,300, Santa Maria $531,700 and Sacramento itself $506,300. Moreno Valley comes in at $503,700, Rialto is listed at $487,900, and Clovis sits on $482,700. Rancho Cordova edges above Palmdale, listed at $471,000, then Chico on $468,100 and Indio on $458,400, and clears Citrus Heights, Lancaster and Modesto, where owners report from $454,600 down to $442,700. Los Angeles, at $921,200, is a different tier altogether. These are owners' estimates, not sale prices, so small gaps between cities in this list should not be over-read. Rancho Cordova lies in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area, which has a population of 2,463,127, and the city itself counts 84,113 residents. Lancaster owners report $446,600, and Palmdale owners $471,000.

The tenure mix is middling. Owners hold 58.2% of homes, which is less than in Menifee (80.2%), Rialto (66.2%) or Indio (67.1%), but more than in Sacramento (51.7%), Santa Maria (50.2%) or Chico (43.4%). Renters here pay a median of $1,787 monthly, below HUD's Fair Market Rent of $2,201 for the Sacramento area. That HUD figure is a benchmark, not a market median. Sacramento's own renters report $1,779, Moreno Valley's $2,135 or Menifee's $2,110, so Rancho Cordova sits close to Sacramento on rent and below those other cities. Modesto renters report $1,690 and Chico renters $1,488. Clovis renters report $1,792 and Palmdale renters $1,802, close to Rancho Cordova's figure, while Indio renters report $1,437. Owner-occupancy runs higher in Clovis, at 65.4%, and in Palmdale, at 66.2%. Citrus Heights owners hold 60.7% of homes, Lancaster owners 60.4% and Modesto owners 58.9%, which brackets Rancho Cordova's own share closely.

Sacramento County's median yearly taxes of $3,921 correspond to a county value of $534,200, an effective rate of 0.73%. The county median is above Rancho Cordova's own, so a home priced near the city median may carry a somewhat smaller bill than the county figure suggests. In 2025 the county logged 11,727 loans, and the closing cost at the midpoint was $7,223, against a usual spread from $4,884 to $12,933. A buyer comparing Rancho Cordova with Citrus Heights or Clovis would face the same county-level loan figures, because they are measured for the county and not for each city, so the useful local comparison is the owner estimate and the rent line rather than the loan cost. Because the county rate is a share of value, a buyer can apply the 0.73% rate to a specific price to estimate an annual bill, then check it against the $3,921 median.

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 Rancho Cordova

How much is property tax in Rancho Cordova?

Homeowners in Sacramento County pay a median $3,921 a year in property tax, 0.73% of the county median home value of $534,200 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Rancho Cordova?

Home-purchase mortgages in Sacramento County carried median total loan costs of $7,223 in 2025; half of the 11,727 loans fell between $4,884 and $12,933 (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 Rancho Cordova?

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 Rancho Cordova?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Rancho Cordova ($477,600) equals 22.3 years of the median gross rent ($1,787 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Rancho Cordova?

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 Rancho Cordova

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Sources

California · All states · Federal guides