What salary do you need to live in Fresno, CA?

The cost side of living in Fresno

Renters in Fresno pay a median $1,326 a month for two bedrooms. Size matters: one bedroom is $1,077, three bedrooms $1,685, so going from the smallest to the largest of the three adds $7,296 a year.

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $389,400. With median household income at $74,468, a typical home costs 5.2× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

Price levels matter beyond rent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures Fresno's overall prices at 102.2 on a scale where the nation is 100, which makes a $100,000 salary feel like about $97,888 would elsewhere.

The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Fresno

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $52,000 for Tight, $104,000 for Okay and $210,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $106,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

The Royal grade is within reach at $633,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

Fresno at four common salaries

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Tight, with scores from 32 to 39.

Comfortable is above every row of the table here. At $150,000 a two-bedroom still grades Okay, with rent taking 11% of income.

Fresno compared with every US metro

Out of 387 metros, Fresno has the 56th highest price parity and the 112th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the top quarter on overall prices and near the middle on rent.

Next to Fresno on the national rent ranking: Medford, OR ($1,327) and Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL ($1,324).

Fresno vs. the rest of California

Compared with California as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Fresno is 37% lower ($1,326 vs. $2,103) and the median home is 47% lower ($389,400 vs. $734,700).

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $439,000, so Fresno needs $229,000 less than California overall.

Within California, the metros closest to Fresno on rent and overall prices are Yuba City, CA, Redding, CA, and Chico, CA. Their Comfortable lines for two bedrooms sit at $224,000, $193,000, and $221,000.

Does the typical Fresno income clear the bar?

A household at the Fresno median income of $74,468 would see a two-bedroom score of 35 — Tight — with rent at 21% of income. The Comfortable line is 182% above what the median household makes. Statewide, the California median household ($99,122) grades Stretched on the state's own medians. Keep in mind a household median often combines two incomes.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.