Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim vs San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara: Housing Market Comparison (2026)

Side-by-side Alpha Scores, affordability, momentum, supply, jobs, and rental yield · as of May 2026

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim vs San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara side by side

Metric Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
Alpha Score2525
Price Momentum5050
Inventory Health17
Affordability11
Economic Strength4953
Rental Yield2917
Median Sale Price
Price-to-Income8.88.5
Payment-to-Income54.2%52.3%
Months of Supply
Gross Rental Yield2.9%2.5%
Overvaluation Index4040

Highlighted = the stronger read for that metric (supply, valuation, and payment burden are better when lower). Income/rent inputs lag annually.

How Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara compare, dimension by dimension

  • Affordability: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara score the same (1/100).
  • Price Momentum: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara score the same (50/100).
  • Inventory Health: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara leads — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 1/100 vs San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 7/100.
  • Economic Strength: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara leads — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 49/100 vs San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 53/100.
  • Rental Yield: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim leads — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 29/100 vs San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 17/100.

Frequently asked questions

Which has a higher Alpha Score, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim or San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara?

They're essentially tied, each near 25 out of 100. The Alpha Score is a 0-100 composite of price momentum, inventory health, affordability, economic strength, and rental yield.

Is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim or San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara more affordable?

Affordability is comparable in both markets. Price-to-income is 8.8 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and 8.5 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara.

Which housing market has stronger momentum, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim or San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara?

Both markets show similar price momentum (about 50/100).

Want to swap in other cities, change the metrics, or chart the trend over time? Customize this comparison → in the interactive Compare tool. Or read the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim market brief and the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara brief.