The 10 most expensive U.S. metro areas to buy a home–half are in California

San Jose, California, is the most expensive U.S. metro area to buy a home for the second year running.

With a median home price exceeding $1.6 million as of May 2025, the Silicon Valley city continues to lead the U.S. in high real estate costs, according to a recent report from SmartAsset, a financial technology company. The report analyzed Zillow data on single-family homes, condos and co-ops in 100 of the country’s largest metro areas in 2020, 2024 and 2025.

California is home to the five most expensive markets by median sale price in 2025, SmartAsset found.

“California has this really beautiful intersection of a really highly productive economy, and also just natural beauty that enables a really comfortable lifestyle for a lot of people,” says Jaclyn DeJohn, director of economic analysis at SmartAsset. That “comfortable lifestyle” is a significant pull for buyers, she adds.

With high-paying tech jobs and proximity to the beach, San Jose is a prime, and increasingly pricey, magnet, DeJohn says. The city’s median home cost has increased by 1.63% since May 2024, SmartAsset found.