Can you afford to live in Los Angeles?

Median household income, home values and rent in Los Angeles, CA — how they've changed since 2015 and how much of a typical paycheck housing takes compared with the rest of the country.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

This story was assembled using AI and public data sources.

What it costs to live in Los Angeles.

Median household income: $80,366 — +60.1% since 2015 (not adjusted for inflation)

Median gross rent: $1,879/mo — +55.4% since 2015

Median home value, 2015 to 2023

• 2015: 471000
• 2023: 879500

Median household income

• Los Angeles: 80366
• Los Angeles County: 87760
• CA: 96334
• U.S.: 78538

Median gross rent

• Los Angeles: 1879
• Los Angeles County: 1893
• CA: 1956
• U.S.: 1348

Share of income a typical renter spends on rent: 34.7% — U.S.: 30.2%

What it means

Households here earn about what households nationally earn ($80,366 versus $78,538).

The typical renter here spends 34.7% of household income on rent, above the 30% level housing agencies use to define cost burden.

Since 2015, income has kept pace with rent here (+60.1% versus +55.4%), before adjusting for inflation.