The short answer: the risk is scheduled bills, not scenery
If you are weighing a move to California next year, which cities carry the most risk? According to a recent video from the YouTube channel InsideCalifornia, the answer is not simply the places with the highest prices. The creator argues that 15 cities share one trait: something costly or disruptive is already on the calendar for 2027, whether a rate table, a completed vote or a closed plant.
Most of those items fall into four buckets. Utility rates are rising sharply. Some city budgets are strained. Major employers are shrinking or leaving. A few towns have lost or nearly lost basic services such as a hospital or a usable beach. None of this means a city is a bad place to live. The video says as much. It does mean a buyer's real monthly cost may differ from what a listing and a mortgage calculator suggest.
This article walks through the claims, adds context on how to check them and notes where the list has limits. The figures below come from the video's narration, which relied on city documents and news reports. The transcript was auto-generated, so treat specific numbers as items to verify.
How the list was built
InsideCalifornia says each city was chosen because a change is already in motion for 2027. Proposals still waiting on the November ballot were left out, and so were towns that appeared in the channel's recent California videos. That is a reasonable filter for finding hard facts, but it also makes the list a sample, not a ranking of the state's riskiest places.
The creator also frames the video as a caution, not a condemnation. He repeatedly acknowledges what each town does well: good schools in Cerritos and Clovis, affordability in Banning, outdoor recreation in Dunsmuir. Readers should keep that balance in mind.
One gap is worth stating up front. The brief for this piece mentioned insurance, but the video does not discuss home insurance premiums or availability. Anyone moving to a California community, particularly in foothill, mountain or fire-prone areas, should get insurance quotes separately before committing.
Water and sewer hikes dominate the list
The most repeated theme is utility pricing. According to the video, these cities have steep increases scheduled or recently approved:
| City | What the video reports | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cerritos | Water and sewer bills up about 76% this year; bimonthly bill from roughly $65 to $115 | About 6,400 written protests; next increase set for July 1, 2027; recall effort against two council members |
| Glendale | Average water rate increase of 53% on January 1, then smaller annual steps | City cites about $37 more per month on an average bill near $111 |
| La Verne | Increases of 35% in January and 25% in July this year, with more scheduled | Creator estimates roughly 95% over five years |
| Burbank | Water up 14% and electricity up nearly 10% on January 1, repeating last year's pattern | Low-income lifeline discount rising to 45% |
| Clovis | Water rates up about 60% over three years, starting with 21% in January | Typical bimonthly bill said to rise from about $27 to $40 |
Why are so many cities doing this at once? The video points to aging pipes and wells, higher costs for imported water and reserves that ran low after years of holding rates down. Clovis, for example, had not raised rates meaningfully since 2009, according to the creator. Several of these systems were built decades ago and are now due for replacement.
How the protest process works
California's Proposition 218 requires cities to notify property owners before raising property-related fees such as water and sewer. If a majority of affected owners submit written protests, the increase is blocked. The video notes that this almost never happens, and Cerritos shows why: roughly 6,400 protest letters were not enough to stop the vote. For a plain-language explanation of the rule, see the sources below.
Note that a few figures in the video do not fully line up. The La Verne section lists a 15% step in 2027 and 10% steps afterward, plus earlier steps this year, and the creator's 95% total may be a rough estimate rather than a compounded calculation. Check the city's published rate schedule for the exact figures.
Budget strain: Benicia, Banning, Dunsmuir and Commerce
A second group of cities faces tighter city finances, which can translate into service cuts or new taxes.
- Benicia (Solano County): The video says the Valero refinery closed this year, taking away roughly 13% of the city's budget through utility taxes and water sales. The city's own report puts the annual loss near $10.8 million, according to the creator. About $3.5 million from savings is bridging the gap, and the city manager has warned of service cuts in the two-year budget starting in 2027.
- Banning (Riverside County): The city council declared a fiscal emergency in June. The main account is projected to be about $12.8 million negative, a figure the video says could double by next summer without changes.
- Dunsmuir (Siskiyou County): The town doubled its local sales tax from half a percent to one percent after a declared emergency. Measure D passed by 24 votes, 290 to 266, according to the video.
- Commerce (Los Angeles County): The city relies heavily on card-room revenue. After state rule changes, it declared a fiscal emergency and passed Measure PC with 73%, and county voters approved Measure ER, which adds another half cent.
InsideCalifornia argues that when a small city's finances depend on one taxpayer or one-time money, buyers inherit that fragility. That is a fair way to think about it, though many cities recover from emergencies with reasonable fixes.
Jobs and employers: Folsom, San Ramon and Blythe
Home prices follow paychecks, and the video highlights three places where a major payer is shrinking.
Folsom: Intel has cut more than 1,000 positions at its Folsom campus since 2023, according to the video, and plans to sell the property. The creator notes that Folsom also has health care and state-government commuters, so it is not a one-employer town.
San Ramon: Chevron is moving its headquarters to Houston, with about 600 layoffs at San Ramon and a five-year plan to shift remaining corporate functions. The creator argues that departing households could add listings while office space converts to housing, which would mean more supply and fewer buyers. A viewer quoted in the video disputed parts of his description of the area, so local conditions deserve a closer look.
Blythe: The state closed Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in late 2024, which the city said affected about 850 jobs, according to the video.
Employer exits do not always lead to price drops quickly. The creator himself notes that prices often hold for a while and then soften as the next round of buyers thins out. That pattern is plausible, but it is not guaranteed. For the wider picture on affordability, see our piece on why home prices outrun incomes.
Services at risk: hospitals, groundwater and a closed beach
Some of the most serious items on the list are not about money alone.
- Willows: Glenn Medical Center closed its doors on October 21, 2025, after losing a federal rural designation. Congress has since restored that status, but the video says the building still needs $40 million to $50 million to reopen.
- Blythe: Palo Verde Hospital filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy and, according to the video, had only a few days of cash at one point. The county is running it temporarily, and the current budget still shows a gap of roughly $9.5 million.
- Hanford: Under California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the Tule River subbasin was placed on state probation. The video says a judge ruled in August that the state may collect fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot from most farmers. The Kings County Farm Bureau warned that costs could reach thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for large growers, which could lead to fallowed land and fewer farm jobs.
- Imperial Beach: The beach has been closed for more than 1,600 consecutive days because of sewage from the Tijuana River, with another closure on September 27. The video says cross-border projects are underway but unlikely to fix the problem by 2027.
For retirees and households with health needs, distance to an emergency room is a practical factor that no listing photo captures.
Limits and counterpoints to the creator's view
The video is useful, but readers should weigh several limits:
- It is selective. Every California city has some pending cost or challenge. The list shows 15 examples, not a comparison against cities with no such problems.
- Cheap fixes are not always bad news. A rate increase can mean a system is being repaired instead of neglected. Clovis's typical bill stays low even after the jump, by the creator's own numbers.
- Price effects are not proven. The video does not present data showing that these events caused home values to fall in any of the 15 cities. The link between a closure or a rate hike and prices is an inference.
- Numbers may contain errors. The transcript is auto-generated, and the creator draws on news reports that can be revised.
- The rank order is subjective. Cerritos at number one reflects the creator's surprise at a protest that failed, not a measurable risk score.
What this means for you
If you are buying: Ask the seller for the last 12 months of utility bills and then model next year's rates on top of them. Read the city's current budget and any fiscal emergency declaration. Attend or watch a few council meetings. Get homeowners insurance quotes before you waive contingencies, since this video does not cover them. If a city's budget is shaky, there is room to negotiate, and our guide on how buyers negotiate seller concessions explains common tools. Also consider whether renting first may be the more flexible choice in an uncertain town.
If you are selling: Buyers are increasingly aware of utility and tax changes. Be ready to explain rate schedules, and consider documenting recent bills so a buyer's estimate is not worse than reality.
If you own: Rising water and sewer costs tend to be gradual, but a protest period is your window to be heard. Watch notices about Prop 218 hearings, and budget for several years of increases, not just one. Landlords may pass costs along to tenants, so renters should ask how utility costs will be handled.
This is general information, not personalized financial advice. A local agent, a lender and the city's own finance office can verify the details that matter for a specific address.
What to watch next
Several milestones will clarify these stories: Prop 218 hearings and council votes on rate plans, the next two-year budget in Benicia, how Banning's emergency measures play out, who buys the Intel campus in Folsom and whether the Glenn Medical Center funding gap closes. In Cerritos, the recall effort and the July 2027 rate step are the two events to follow.
If the pattern the video describes holds, the biggest surprise for new California homeowners next year may not be the mortgage payment. It may be the stack of smaller bills that quietly rise around it.