California Mortgage Calculator
Use this free California mortgage calculator to estimate your monthly mortgage payments and annual amortization.
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Getting a Mortgage in California
It's no secret that housing in California is expensive.
The typical monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home in Los Angeles County was $5,353 in Q1 2025, based on a $913,236 home value, according to the National Association of Realtors. In Santa Clara County, the most populous county in the San Francisco Bay Area, the numbers jump even higher, with the typical payment reaching $9,103 for a $1,553,015 home.
By comparison, the national median was $2,120 for a $402,300 single-family home.
The Central Valley and northern counties offer more breathing room. Fresno County's typical payment clocks in at $2,469 monthly ($421,223 median), while Shasta County — where Redding is located — runs $2,169 ($369,999 median).
California's first-time home buyer programs
The California Housing Finance Agency, or CalHFA, offers several loan programs to help qualified first-time home buyers get a mortgage.
Average property tax by county
| County | Avg. property tax rate | Median home value |
|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | 0.75% | $1,092,500 |
| Alpine County | 0.63% | $463,900 |
| Amador County | 0.61% | $409,600 |
| Butte County | 0.71% | $412,700 |
| Calaveras County | 0.74% | $404,200 |
| Colusa County | 0.62% | $360,100 |
| Contra Costa County | 0.79% | $865,800 |
| Del Norte County | 0.65% | $282,500 |
| El Dorado County | 0.74% | $654,000 |
| Fresno County | 0.79% | $382,500 |
| Glenn County | 0.66% | $295,400 |
| Humboldt County | 0.63% | $429,500 |
| Imperial County | 0.85% | $293,200 |
| Inyo County | 0.64% | $325,900 |
| Kern County | 0.95% | $330,000 |
| Kings County | 0.77% | $299,400 |
| Lake County | 0.66% | $300,200 |
| Lassen County | 0.75% | $233,100 |
| Los Angeles County | 0.67% | $805,600 |
| Madera County | 0.7% | $396,100 |
| Marin County | 0.75% | $1,466,500 |
| Mariposa County | 0.62% | $335,900 |
| Mendocino County | 0.61% | $483,400 |
| Merced County | 0.67% | $388,300 |
| Modoc County | 0.64% | $184,900 |
| Mono County | 0.75% | $496,800 |
| Monterey County | 0.63% | $732,500 |
| Napa County | 0.62% | $866,300 |
| Nevada County | 0.73% | $633,300 |
| Orange County | 0.67% | $940,900 |
| Placer County | 0.83% | $682,000 |
| Plumas County | 0.67% | $310,100 |
| Riverside County | 0.89% | $555,400 |
| Sacramento County | 0.78% | $536,600 |
| San Benito County | 0.8% | $801,200 |
| San Bernardino County | 0.77% | $504,400 |
| San Diego County | 0.7% | $846,600 |
| San Francisco County | 0.64% | $1,343,700 |
| San Joaquin County | 0.79% | $535,800 |
| San Luis Obispo County | 0.66% | $776,400 |
| San Mateo County | 0.58% | $1,586,500 |
| Santa Barbara County | 0.59% | $744,700 |
| Santa Clara County | 0.65% | $1,475,500 |
| Santa Cruz County | 0.63% | $1,013,900 |
| Shasta County | 0.71% | $355,100 |
| Sierra County | 0.69% | $289,400 |
| Siskiyou County | 0.64% | $260,200 |
| Solano County | 0.79% | $605,300 |
| Sonoma County | 0.66% | $771,000 |
| Stanislaus County | 0.74% | $450,700 |
| Sutter County | 0.77% | $433,100 |
| Tehama County | 0.66% | $342,100 |
| Trinity County | 0.32% | $326,200 |
| Tulare County | 0.73% | $320,500 |
| Tuolumne County | 0.6% | $377,700 |
| Ventura County | 0.7% | $796,300 |
| Yolo County | 0.79% | $591,800 |
| Yuba County | 0.8% | $430,400 |
How to use the mortgage calculator
To use our mortgage calculator, simply add your details to the following fields:
Home price
Down payment
Interest rate
Loan term (years)
After you enter these four pieces of information, the calculator displays the monthly payment inside the "Loan Estimate" window. It also displays:
Total principal
Total interest payments
Total loan payments
Payoff date
Calculating costs in addition to principal and interest
The calculator lets you fine-tune your payment by entering your annual property tax premium, annual home insurance premium, monthly homeowner association (HOA) fee, and monthly private mortgage insurance (PMI) premium.
To enter this information, click “Show Advanced Info” underneath the main loan details. Note that you'll enter the annual cost for property taxes and home insurance and the monthly cost for HOA fees and PMI premiums. The PMI field will only display if your down payment is less than 20%.
In the “Loan Estimate” window, select "Amortization Schedule" to uncover a table that shows how much you'll pay in principal and interest each month, as well as the remaining amount you owe ("Principal balance") after making the payment.
» MORE: What is mortgage amortization?
Explanation of terminology
Total monthly payment: An estimate of all your monthly housing costs, covering your loan principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and PMI.
Total principal: This is the amount you borrow. Each mortgage payment reduces the principal you owe.
Total interest payments: How much interest you would pay over the life of the loan.
Total loan payments: The entire amount of principal and interest paid, excluding taxes, insurance, and PMI.
Down payment: The portion of the home’s price you pay in cash upfront.
Interest rate: How much the lender charges you to lend you the money. Interest rates are expressed as an annual percentage. A lower interest rate gives you a smaller monthly payment.
Loan term (years): The number of years you have to repay the mortgage. A longer term gives you a lower monthly payment, but you’ll pay more interest.
Start date: The month that your first mortgage payment is due.
Payoff date: The month your home will be fully paid off based on the loan term.
Property taxes: The annual tax assessed by a government authority on your home and land. You pay about one-twelfth of your annual property tax bill with each mortgage payment, and the servicer saves them in an escrow account. When the taxes are due, the loan servicer pays them.
Homeowners insurance: Your policy covers damage and financial losses from fire, storms, theft, a tree falling on your house and other bad things. As with property taxes, you pay roughly one-twelfth of your annual homeowners insurance premium each month, and the servicer pays the bill when it's due.
Monthly HOA fees: The amount you may pay each month if you belong to a homeowners association. Typically, these dues are billed directly, not added to the monthly mortgage payment. Because HOA dues can be easy to forget when considering the cost of homeownership, NerdWallet's mortgage calculator allows you to enter them here.
Private mortgage insurance: If you get a conventional mortgage and put down less than 20%, you’ll have to pay a monthly PMI premium. It covers the lender if you default on the loan and can be canceled once you reach 20% equity. FHA loans require a similar fee called a mortgage insurance premium.
If you're looking to see how much you could save by refinancing your mortgage, try NerdWallet's refinance calculator.
» MORE FOR CANADIAN READERS: Canada mortgage payment calculator