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

Buying a home in Santa Ana, California

In Santa Ana, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $713,000, Orange County's effective property tax rate is 0.66%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $9,436 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $2,082 a month.

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

Santa Ana home costs, fact by fact

About Santa Ana

Santa Ana, with 316,184 residents, is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area, the 2nd largest in the country. The median gross rent is $2,082 per month, and owners occupy 44.6% of homes.

Reading the Santa Ana figures

Start with the tax side. In Orange County the 0.66% effective rate meets county homes valued at $962,600, so the typical annual payment comes to $6,330. Santa Ana's own median value, $713,000, is lower than the county's, which suggests that a typical purchase in the city would carry a payment under that county number.

The city's value is a notch under California's $770,700. Santa Rosa and Escondido are almost level with it, priced at $713,900 and $714,500, whereas Los Angeles reaches $921,200. West Covina, Oceanside, Chula Vista and Rancho Cucamonga form a ladder stepping down from $779,800 to $740,200. Keep in mind that every figure here reflects what owners believe their homes are worth.

Ownership is lower than in most cities of comparable price: 44.6% of households own. Corona shows 63.8% and Roseville 68.8%, whereas El Cajon (41.5%) and Los Angeles (36%) lean more heavily toward renting. Temecula (68%) and Tracy (65%) mark the owner-heavy end among similarly valued cities.

Rent sits at $2,082 a month. Renters here pay more than in Los Angeles, where the median is $1,933, or in El Cajon, where it is $1,856, but less than in Tracy ($2,478) or Rancho Cucamonga ($2,357). HUD's yardstick for the Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine zone, $3,057, sits well above the city median, and its larger-home line, $4,153, higher still. It describes a wider area, so treat it as an outer limit rather than a typical rent.

Lenders add the last piece. For 2025, the county's 12,159 loans carried median financing charges of $9,436, with the middle of the loans spanning $7,052 to $15,094, a broad spread that matters more for a buyer than the headline. The metro area, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, ranks 2nd nationally with 12,927,614 people, while Santa Ana alone has 316,184.

One more way to read the rent: Escondido asks $2,046 and Santa Rosa $2,152, which puts Santa Ana between the two, in a market where renters outnumber owners.

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.

Sectors of Santa Ana

Santa Ana is divided into the ten most populous of 61 neighborhood associations, one open spot per trade in each.

Source: City of Santa Ana GIS, Neighborhoods (hosted layer of the city). Population per area is a Payotte estimate: the sum of Census ACS 2020-2024 populations (table B01003) of the 2020 census tracts whose internal point lies inside each official boundary. These areas do not cover the whole city.

Questions about buying a home in Santa Ana

How much is property tax in Santa Ana?

Homeowners in Orange County pay a median $6,330 a year in property tax, 0.66% of the county median home value of $962,600 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Santa Ana?

Home-purchase mortgages in Orange County carried median total loan costs of $9,436 in 2025; half of the 12,159 loans fell between $7,052 and $15,094 (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 Santa Ana?

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 Santa Ana?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Santa Ana ($713,000) equals 28.5 years of the median gross rent ($2,082 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Santa Ana?

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 Santa Ana

Other large cities in California

Who licenses each trade in California · All covered cities

Sources

California · All states · Federal guides