Photo: Davishan99 · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Temecula costs more to live in than 98% of U.S. towns
It ranks #718 of 846 in California and #379 of 400 U.S. cities over 100,000 for affordability. About the same as a year ago, close to the California typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area ($90K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Temecula’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($90K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 31% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 58% of renters.
In dollars
- $757Ktypical home, 1% below the California typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,680a 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$90K, Riverside-area income
- 31%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 58%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across California: 55%Census 2020–24
- 31%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Temecula’s housing numbers say
Mostly newer homes
Half of Temecula’s homes were built after 1998, against 1976 for California as a whole. Property taxes ↓
A burst of building in 2023
Temecula permitted 1,293 new homes in 2023, against about 311 in a typical year of the past decade. 2025 came in at 195. New homes ↓
2026 has already passed 2025
Through August, Temecula had permitted 231 new homes in 2026, more than the 195 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 Temecula’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Temecula is more affordable than 2% of U.S. towns, #718 of 846 in California. The four inputs sit close together, so no single cost explains the grade.
Prices here have kept pace with California: up 16.6% in five years, against 13.3% statewide (Zillow).
Up 16.6% in five years
Faster than California (13.3%).
Show as a table
| January | Temecula | California |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $420,000 | $451,000 |
| 2018 | $461,000 | $499,000 |
| 2019 | $479,000 | $537,000 |
| 2020 | $489,000 | $548,000 |
| 2021 | $548,000 | $604,000 |
| 2022 | $684,000 | $700,000 |
| 2023 | $711,000 | $723,000 |
| 2024 | $740,000 | $754,000 |
| 2025 | $773,000 | $778,000 |
| 2026 | $758,000 | $763,000 |
| September 2026 | $757,000 | $762,000 |
A typical Temecula home worth $418K in October 2016 is worth about $757K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A seller's market
Supply is tight — about 3.7 months of homes for sale at the current pace. Buyers should expect competition on well-priced homes.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A typical home costs 7.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Temecula’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $402K short of a typical Temecula home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,680 a month here, $1,790 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Temecula’s typical property tax (0.80% 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 $2,680
Renters already here pay a median of $2,347, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
195 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 195 new homes in Temecula in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $32.6 million to build. That's 1.8 per 1,000 residents, slower than across California (2.7). Over the past 10 years, Temecula has permitted 4,096 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Temecula gained 9,906 residents while 3,226 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) | 231 | 231 | 0 | $39.2 million |
| 2025 | 195 | 195 | 0 | $32.6 million |
| 2024 | 380 | 246 | 134 | $55.1 million |
| 2023 | 1,293 | 592 | 701 | $157.3 million |
| 2022 | 671 | 394 | 277 | $94.7 million |
| 2021 | 503 | 437 | 66 | $92.2 million |
| 2020 | 324 | 261 | 63 | $50.2 million |
| 2019 | 223 | 54 | 169 | $25.2 million |
| 2018 | 90 | 90 | 0 | $17.1 million |
| 2017 | 116 | 86 | 30 | $21.9 million |
| 2016 | 301 | 161 | 140 | $49.8 million |
| 2015 | 179 | 143 | 36 | $39.7 million |
| 2014 | 662 | 234 | 428 | $79.4 million |
| 2013 | 664 | 316 | 348 | $90.1 million |
| 2012 | 355 | 330 | 25 | $60.5 million |
| 2011 | 288 | 288 | 0 | $55.6 million |
| 2010 | 348 | 348 | 0 | $65.6 million |
| 2009 | 355 | 323 | 32 | $67.4 million |
| 2008 | 575 | 301 | 274 | $96.5 million |
| 2007 | 905 | 668 | 237 | $181.8 million |
| 2006 | 607 | 589 | 18 | $133.7 million |
| 2005 | 1,354 | 994 | 360 | $246.3 million |
| 2004 | 1,296 | 888 | 408 | $178.4 million |
| 2003 | 1,532 | 1,276 | 256 | $199.9 million |
| 2002 | 651 | 651 | 0 | $97.3 million |
| 2001 | 952 | 952 | 0 | $128.2 million |
| 2000 | 1,386 | 1,142 | 244 | $153.7 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the California norm
The median bill is $5,441 (California: $5,124), 0.80% of a home’s value 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+”.
Temecula vs. its neighbors
Of the 2 towns here with a Zillow value, Temecula has the 2nd-lowest.
Questions about the cost of living in Temecula
Is Temecula expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Temecula costs more than 98% of U.S. towns: a D− for cost of living, #718 of 846 in California. The typical home costs 7.6 years of the median household income of the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area ($90K).
How much does a house cost in Temecula?
About $757K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 0.5% in a year. The California typical home is $762K.
What salary do you need to live in Temecula?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $192,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $4,470 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $107,000.
How much is rent in Temecula?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,680 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $2,347 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Temecula?
The median bill is $5,441 a year, 0.80% of the median home value (California: $5,124, 0.70%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Temecula going up?
Barely: up 0.5% in the past year and 16.6% in five years, against 13.3% across California (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Temecula 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.