Living here
Cost of living in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Housing is much more expensive than the US average. Rents, home prices, taxes and how far a paycheck goes.
Median rent
$2,933/mo
118% above US
Median home value
$2,000,001
559% above US
Median household income
$115,729
47% above US
Rent as share of income
30%
US 21%
Home price to income
17.3×
US 3.9×
Sales tax
9.25%
Rent by number of bedrooms
HUD 2027 fair market rents for Salinas, CA MSA (gross rent including utilities, near the 40th percentile of local rents). Source: HUD USER.
How Carmel-by-the-Sea compares
- Carmel-by-the-Sea$2,933
- California$1,956
- United States$1,348
- Salinas$1,923
- Santa Clara$2,985
- Sunnyvale$3,065
- Palo Alto$3,328
- San Mateo$3,079
- Pleasanton$3,017
- Livermore$2,640
- San Ramon$2,916
- Carmel-by-the-Sea$2,000,001
- California$695,400
- United States$303,400
- Salinas$610,900
- Santa Clara$1,527,900
- Sunnyvale$1,816,600
- Palo Alto$2,000,001
- San Mateo$1,563,200
- Pleasanton$1,432,300
- Livermore$1,038,600
- San Ramon$1,359,100
Taxes
Compare with nearby cities
Life in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Questions
Is Carmel-by-the-Sea expensive to live in?
Housing in Carmel-by-the-Sea is much more expensive than the national average: median rent is $2,933 (118% above US) and the median home value is $2,000,001 (559% above US).
How much is rent in Carmel-by-the-Sea?
The median gross rent is $2,933 a month. HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for the area are studio $1,956, 1 bedroom $2,009, 2 bedrooms $2,416, 3 bedrooms $3,261, 4 bedrooms $3,551.
How much of their income do renters spend in Carmel-by-the-Sea?
At the median, a year’s rent ($35,196) equals about 30% of the median household income ($115,729); nationally it’s about 21%.
What are taxes like in Carmel-by-the-Sea?
Sales tax is 9.25% and property taxes run about 0.34% of home value a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; HUD fair market rents; CDTFA California City & County Sales & Use Tax Rates.