Which California towns gained the most since 2020?
Fifteen California towns saw typical home values climb between about 56% and nearly 70% from January 2020 to August 2026. That is well above the roughly 39% statewide gain cited by the YouTube channel InsideCalifornia, which built its list from Zillow's home value data. Imperial, a farm-belt city near the Mexican border, topped it with a rise of almost 70%.
The headline's "almost doubled" is a stretch. Nothing on the list doubled. But the more useful question for buyers is how exposed recent purchasers are. The answer varies sharply. Some towns are at all-time highs. Others sit 6% to 16% below their 2022 peaks.
How the list was built (and what Zillow's numbers mean)
InsideCalifornia says it reviewed Zillow's home values for every California town the company tracks and excluded beach-mansion and ultra-wealthy enclaves. That leaves middle-market places where, in the creator's words, ordinary buyers ended up with unexpected equity.
The underlying measure is almost certainly the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), which estimates the typical value of homes in a region. It is a modeled and smoothed estimate, not an average sale price. It can lag turning points and is less reliable in small towns where few homes sell each month. Zillow publishes the data on its research data page.
The 15 towns at a glance
The figures below are the typical values and changes InsideCalifornia reported. Dollar amounts are rounded.
| Town | Early 2020 | Aug. 2026 | Change | Recent trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial | ~$260,000 | ~$442,000 | ~70% | All-time high; up ~5% in a year |
| Aliso Viejo | ~$607,000 | just under $1M | 64% | ~1% below early-2025 peak |
| Barstow | ~$163,000 | ~$266,000 | 64% | Down ~1% in a year |
| Adelanto | ~$240,000 | ~$398,000 | 64% | Peaked late 2024; flat since |
| Yucca Valley | ~$220,000 | ~$360,000 | 62% | ~12% below 2022 peak |
| Coachella | ~$270,000 | ~$435,000 | 62% | Rising slowly; no 2022 peak and drop |
| Rancho Mirage | ~$516,000 | ~$830,000 | 61% | ~6% below 2022 peak |
| Twentynine Palms | ~$154,000 | ~$247,000 | 60% | ~16% below 2022 peak |
| Garden Grove | ~$630,000 | just over $1M | 59% | All-time high; up 4%+ in a year |
| Rancho Santa Margarita | ~$630,000 | just over $1M | 59% | Peaked early 2025; slightly lower |
| Hesperia | ~$290,000 | ~$460,000 | 58% | Not specified |
| Santa Maria | ~$420,000 | ~$665,000 | 58% | All-time high; up almost 4% |
| Eastvale | ~$590,000 | ~$930,000 | 57% | Up less than 1% in a year |
| Alpine | ~$610,000 | ~$960,000 | 57% | All-time high |
| La Quinta | ~$470,000 | ~$735,000 | 56% |
What drove the surge
InsideCalifornia's central explanation is simple: cheap money met scarce supply. When mortgage rates fell sharply in 2020, renters who had been priced out suddenly qualified. The creator argues that in Hesperia, which sits up the Cajon Pass from the Inland Empire, buyers all did the same math at once. Hesperia was one of the cheaper places within reach of Los Angeles, so it absorbed the overflow.
You can check the rate backdrop yourself. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows 30-year fixed rates dropped below 3% during the pandemic, then rose sharply from 2022. Higher rates are why many of these markets stalled.
Several towns have their own stories:
- Spillover from pricier neighbors. Rancho Santa Margarita's older homes became the cheaper option next to new Rancho Mission Viejo construction, which the creator says starts well above $1 million. Aliso Viejo's townhomes and condos were the entry point to South Orange County.
- Local employers. Santa Maria benefits from workers tied to Vandenberg Space Force Base. The city has about 5,600 homes in the pipeline and a general plan allowing more than 16,000 by 2045, according to the video.
- Speculative upside. In Imperial, the creator points to lithium plans around the Salton Sea, plus tight supply and local renters turned buyers, as a stack of factors rather than one cause.
- Short-term rentals. The Joshua Tree area boom, discussed below, was fueled by investors buying homes to list on Airbnb.
Peaked, flat or still climbing: three groups
Still rising
Imperial, Santa Maria, Garden Grove and Alpine are at or near all-time highs, according to the video. Imperial's 5% one-year gain was the strongest on the list, and InsideCalifornia says Zillow forecasts almost 3% more next year, the best outlook of the 15. Forecasts are estimates and have a mixed track record, so treat that figure as one data point.
Flat after a run
Eastvale (up under 1%), Adelanto (flat since late 2024), Aliso Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita (slightly below early-2025 peaks) look like markets that have run into affordability limits. The creator calls Eastvale a town that "ran out of room to run" rather than a crash. For context on how stretched the broader market is, see our look at housing affordability at a 40-year low.
Below the 2022 peak
The most exposed are the desert and resort markets. InsideCalifornia reports Twentynine Palms about 16% below its summer 2022 high and Yucca Valley about 12% below. La Quinta is about 9% off and Rancho Mirage about 6%. In the Joshua Tree area, the creator says, too many short-term rentals chased too few guests. In La Quinta, the city stopped issuing most new short-term rental permits in 2021, which removed an income option some 2021 buyers were counting on.
A buyer from January 2020 is still far ahead in all of these towns. A buyer from mid-2022 may be sitting on little equity, and anyone who put down a small deposit near the peak could owe more than the home is worth.
Income, insurance and hidden costs
The video's most useful data may be the income comparisons. Coachella's household income is about $69,000, so a typical home moved from roughly four years of income to about six. Adelanto, also at about $69,000, went from around 3.5 years of income to almost six. Imperial, at about $90,000, is near five years. The creator argues the Adelanto gap shows the risk of a list like this: if rates stay elevated, few local households can support a $400,000 purchase.
Eastvale ($160,000) and Aliso Viejo ($142,000) have higher incomes, while Garden Grove's is about $92,000. Income figures like these are typically sourced from the Census Bureau; you can check any town on Census QuickFacts.
Then there are the costs outside the price:
- Wildfire and insurance. Alpine is ringed by brush, and the video notes a new state requirement to clear flammable material within five feet of homes. Rancho Santa Margarita earned a state fire-risk-reduction designation, which the creator says may help at renewal. Rancho Mirage's city budget flagged sharply higher insurance and public-safety contract costs. Our piece on California home insurance and home prices covers the exposure in more detail.
- Club and HOA dues. In Rancho Mirage many homes sit inside country clubs. The creator notes that dues can exceed some renters' monthly payments.
- Commute and climate. Hesperia buyers pay in drive time; Imperial summers regularly top 110 degrees.
Counterpoints and limits
A few cautions apply to this analysis.
First, this is one creator's reading of Zillow data, and the video has modest reach. The commentary, such as guesses about which desert rentals were hit hardest, is opinion, not measurement.
Second, ZHVI is a modeled estimate over a fixed window. Starting in January 2020 captures the full pandemic run, and a different start or end month could reorder the ranking. Percent gains also flatter cheap markets: Barstow's 64% is about $100,000, while Aliso Viejo's similar percentage is about $390,000, the largest dollar gain on the list.
Third, paper equity is not realized wealth. Owners who keep their homes benefit only if they eventually sell or borrow against them, and moving in California often means buying again at inflated prices. Finally, the list excludes the wealthiest enclaves by design, so it says little about California's whole market.
What this means for you
If you are a buyer. Look at the date of the peak, not just the cumulative gain. Towns still at records, such as Imperial or Santa Maria, carry momentum risk if rates rise or local jobs disappoint. Towns that are down from 2022 may offer more negotiating room, but price the insurance quote, HOA and club dues and roof or cooling costs first. Compare rent against ownership using our guide to rent vs buy in California cities, since several desert and high-desert towns appear on both lists.
If you are a seller. A 2020 purchase usually leaves a large cushion, but a 2022 purchase in a resort market may not. Ask a local agent for recent closed sales, not just an online estimate, and subtract selling costs. Our breakdown of the cost to sell a house shows what typically comes out of proceeds.
If you are an owner who is not selling. Equity matters mostly as a buffer. Review your insurance coverage and reserve for repair and fee increases. Avoid treating modeled values as cash you can count on.
This article is general information, not personalized financial advice.
What to watch next
Four indicators will show whether these gains hold:
- Mortgage rates. Track Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Gains in inland markets leaned heavily on rates, so affordability limits bind there first.
- Local employment catalysts. These include Imperial's lithium plans and data center fight, Barstow's rail yard and Santa Maria's housing pipeline. Projects can stall or change.
- Insurance availability. Premium increases can cap what buyers pay in wildfire-prone communities.
- Short-term-rental rules. City permit policies can quickly alter values in resort markets.
For a broader view of whether prices are softening nationally, see Are home prices falling? What Lance Lambert says happens next. You can pull Zillow and other regional series yourself on FRED.