According to a U.S. Census Bureau report, the San Jose metro region has the highest house costs in the country.
Consider retiring in California's famed Sonoma and Napa valleys if your retirement ambition is to dwell among gorgeous vineyards or maybe tend a few vines of your own.
Stockton is a city in inland California about an hour and a half from San Francisco and San Jose, and less than an hour from Sacramento.
The median home price in Vallejo and Fairfield is less than half the price of a property in adjacent San Francisco, yet housing will still feel out of reach for retirees on a fixed income.
Seniors 65 and older can travel the boat from Vallejo to San Francisco for for $5.50.
The City by the Bay has a thriving job market, with numerous high-paying Silicon Valley positions available, ranging from inventive new startups to well-known tech firms.
This inland city is one of California's most cheap places to live. Bakersfield has some of the lowest housing expenses in California.
Although Salinas has more inexpensive housing than the adjacent San Francisco Bay area, home prices remain high in comparison to other parts of the country.