Photo: Tommaso Trentani · CC BY-SA 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Ripon costs more to live in than 94% of U.S. towns
It ranks #457 of 846 in California for affordability. About the same as a year ago, 12% below the California typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area ($92K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Ripon’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($92K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 20% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 55% of renters.
In dollars
- $674Ktypical home, 12% below the California typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,880a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 7.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$92K, Stockton-area income
- 24%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 55%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across California: 55%Census 2020–24
- 20%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Ripon
Mostly newer homes
Half of Ripon’s homes were built after 1995, against 1976 for California as a whole. Property taxes ↓
2026 has already passed 2025
Through August, Ripon had permitted 45 new homes in 2026, more than the 17 in all of 2025. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Ripon’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Ripon is more affordable than 6% of U.S. towns, #457 of 846 in California. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with California: up 9.4% in five years, against 13.3% statewide (Zillow).
Up 9.4% in five years
Slower than California (13.3%).
Show as a table
| January | Ripon | California |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $407,000 | $451,000 |
| 2018 | $439,000 | $499,000 |
| 2019 | $468,000 | $537,000 |
| 2020 | $480,000 | $548,000 |
| 2021 | $533,000 | $604,000 |
| 2022 | $634,000 | $700,000 |
| 2023 | $636,000 | $723,000 |
| 2024 | $657,000 | $754,000 |
| 2025 | $686,000 | $778,000 |
| 2026 | $676,000 | $763,000 |
| September 2026 | $674,000 | $762,000 |
A typical Ripon home worth $396K in October 2016 is worth about $674K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 14 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 7.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Ripon’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $306K short of a typical Ripon home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,880 a month here, $2,050 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Ripon’s typical property tax (0.71% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,880
Renters already here pay a median of $1,851.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
17 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 17 new homes in Ripon in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $4.8 million to build. That's 1 per 1,000 residents, slower than across California (2.7). Over the past 10 years, Ripon has permitted 394 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Ripon gained 1,716 residents while 550 new homes were permitted: about 3.1 new residents per new home, about the same as across California (2.7).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 45 | 45 | 0 | $19.2 million |
| 2025 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $4.8 million |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $502,000 |
| 2023 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $3.4 million |
| 2022 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2021 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2020 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2019 | 72 | 70 | 2 | $18.2 million |
| 2018 | 138 | 82 | 56 | $25.8 million |
| 2017 | 85 | 29 | 56 | $13.3 million |
| 2016 | 36 | 36 | 0 | $9.5 million |
| 2015 | 109 | 54 | 55 | $20.4 million |
| 2014 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $5 million |
| 2013 | 31 | 31 | 0 | $7.9 million |
| 2012 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $6.1 million |
| 2011 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2010 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $3.5 million |
| 2009 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $2.3 million |
| 2008 | 107 | 61 | 46 | $18.6 million |
| 2007 | 123 | 88 | 35 | $23.9 million |
| 2006 | 166 | 138 | 28 | $41.8 million |
| 2005 | 191 | 189 | 2 | $61.5 million |
| 2004 | 270 | 270 | 0 | $78 million |
| 2003 | 302 | 302 | 0 | $84.8 million |
| 2002 | 220 | 220 | 0 | $57.8 million |
| 2001 | 109 | 109 | 0 | $22.7 million |
| 2000 | 174 | 134 | 40 | $38.7 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $5,034, under the California median of $5,124, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 0.71% a year, against 0.70% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Ripon and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ripon | D | $674K | $705K | 0.71% | $1,880 |
Questions about the cost of living in Ripon
Is Ripon expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Ripon costs more than 94% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #457 of 846 in California. The typical home costs 7.6 years of the median household income of the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area ($92K).
How much does a house cost in Ripon?
About $674K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 0.2% in a year. The California typical home is $762K.
What salary do you need to live in Ripon?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $169,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $3,930 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $75,000.
How much is rent in Ripon?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,880 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,851 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Ripon?
The median bill is $5,034 a year, 0.71% of the median home value (California: $5,124, 0.70%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Ripon going up?
Barely: up 0.2% in the past year and 9.4% in five years, against 13.3% across California (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Ripon buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.