Cost of living in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Housing, rent, and a comparison to the US average.

$1,839,441
Median home value
$5,464/mo
Median rent
518
Cost index (US=100)
-1.2%
Home YoY change

The median home value in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA is $1,839,441 as of 2026-04. That places Rancho Palos Verdes above the US average for housing cost, with a cost index of approximately 518 versus a national baseline of 100.

Over the past 12 months, the median home value in Rancho Palos Verdes has moved sideways, and over the past five years it has averaged +5.3% annual growth. The current price sits -4.0% from its 5-year peak in 2023-12.

Renters pay a median of $5,464 per month in Rancho Palos Verdes. Rents have changed +1.9% over the last year and averaged +5.8% per year over five years.

Beyond housing, day-to-day costs in Rancho Palos Verdes are shaped by state and local taxes, utility rates, transportation, and groceries. This page focuses on the housing component, which is the largest single line in most household budgets and the easiest to compare across cities using consistent national data.

Housing

Median home value$1,839,441
1-year change-1.2%
5-year price growth+5.3%
10-year price growth+6.1%
vs 5-year peak-4.0%

Source: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).

How Rancho Palos Verdes compares

Cost index518 (above US)
Median home vs US (~$355k)+418.2%
Population40,064
Momentum score54 (Stable)

Cost index is currently a housing-only proxy; full BLS basket coming with ACS pull.

Affordability reality

Prices only mean something against local pay. Here’s how Rancho Palos Verdes’s housing lines up with what people here actually earn.

Median rent vs income37% of local median income
Home price-to-income10.2× local median income

At $5,464/mo, rent eats about 37% of the local median household income of $179,623 — above the 30% rule of thumb for affordable housing.

The median home runs about 10.2× the local median income (severely stretched — a stretch even for local earners).

Daily life in Rancho Palos Verdes

Climate

82°/60° summer60°/41° winter258 sunny days8″ snow/yr22″ rain/yr

Summers run mild (highs near 82°F) and winters are mild (highs near 60°F), with about 8″ of snow a year.

Natural-hazard & insurance risk

Flood: moderateTornado: very lowHurricane: very lowWildfire: very highEarthquake: very high

Insurance heads-up: in Rancho Palos Verdes, flood damage isn’t covered by standard home insurance — budget for a separate NFIP/private flood policy and check the FEMA flood zone for the exact address.

Getting around

The average commute is 36 min — longer than the US average of ~27 min; 28% of workers are remote; 80% own their home.

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.