California has third-highest home prices per square foot in US. What can you get for $300K?

California has some of the highest home prices per square foot in the nation, according to GoBankingRates.

The personal finance website published a list of “How Much House Does $300K, $400K and $500K Buy You in Every State” on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

The site ranked all 50 states in the United States on a housing cost-of-living index, which is based on the number of square feet you can purchase at the three different six-figure price points.

Hawaii had the highest median home listing price in the nation at $678 per square foot, GoBankingRates said.

Massachusetts came in second place in terms of the most expensive housing in the United States with a median listing price of $506 per square foot.

Here’s how much homeowners can expect to pay California:

How much do California homes cost per square foot?

California had the third most expensive home prices in the United States in terms of square footage, according to the GoBankingRates study.

The median listing price for a home in California is $468 per square foot, the study said.

This means you can get a 641-square-foot home in the Golden State for $300,000, according to GoBankingRates.

You’d have shell out at least $400,000 for a 854-square-foot home, the study found, and spend $500,000 or more to buy a home with a square footage of 1,000.

However, housing prices and square footage depend on location.

As of Tuesday, nine homes in the Sacramento area were listed on popular real estate website Zillow for $300,000 to $310,000, ranging in size from 956 square feet to 1,400 square feet.

In San Luis Obispo County, just two properties were listed on Zillow in the $300,000 to $310,000 price range: a 1,300-square-foot home in Paso Robles and an 800-square-foot home in Oceano.

Five homes were for sale in Modesto in the same price range, Zillow said, with available properties starting at 760 square feet and going up to 1,550 square feet.

In Fresno, 14 houses were listed on Zillow for $300,000 to $310,000. The houses ranged in size from 908 square feet to 1,447 square feet.

What US states have lowest home prices per square foot?

West Virginia took the top spot in the GoBankingRates list for having the lowest median home listing price per square foot.

At $300,000, you can get a home in West Virginia with at least 2,000 square feet of space, paying just $137 per square foot.

Kansas was in second place with a median listing price per square foot of $158, while Alabama, which had a median listing price of $160 per square foot, came in third.

Here are the 10 states with the lowest housing prices per square foot, according to GoBankingRates:

1. West Virginia
2. Kansas
3. Alabama
4. Mississippi
5. Oklahoma
6. Arkansas
7. Iowa
8. Indiana
9. Kentucky
10. Michigan

Which states have most expensive housing prices?

These are the 10 states in the United States with the most expensive housing price per square foot, according to GoBankRates:

1. Hawaii
2. Massachusetts
3. California
4. New York
5. New Jersey
6. Arizona
7. Maine
8. Vermont
9. Oregon
10. Utah

How did GoBankingRates come up with its rankings?

GoBankingRates said it created its rankings by analyzing the amount of square footage that can be purchased in each state at the $300,000 price point.

Analysts calculated the price per square foot for each state with the median price per square foot for the United States, and each state’s housing cost index.

GoBankingRates then determined how much square footage was affordable at $300,000, $400,000 and $500,000 in price points.

The site used data from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis and the Missouri Economic and Research Information Center.

Data was current as of Jan. 3, GoBankingRates said.

This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "California has third-highest home prices per square foot in US. What can you get for $300K?."

Camila Pedrosa

The Sacramento Bee

Camila Pedrosa is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked as a summer reporting intern for The Bee and reported in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.