The Cheapest Town in Southern California

You want to move to Cali, do ya? You don't want to pay out the wazoo for a home, yet you still want to be close enough to breathe in that Southern California air. I feel you. I would love to be able to own some property out there, it's just SO expensive these days.

There are some catches though. This particular place is near the desert, not close to any beaches, and the nearest big city might be miles away. So, where exactly is this cheap place to live?

The cheapest town in Southern California is about an hour away from Pasadena and less than an hour from the nearest big city of San Bernardino. It was founded in 1915 by a man who invented an iron that became so popular and convenient, his product was bought out by General Electric. Adelanto is surrounded by the high desert. That means it's probably not the best place to wear your Crocs, ha!

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Compared to other cities in Southern California, Adelanto is relatively cheap and affordable for this town of less than 40,000 residents. Residents here live amongst a diverse blend of people from different cultural backgrounds.

There are a couple of shooting ranges in this town, lots of livestock ranches, a truck stop, a detention center, RV Park, school, motel, and an events center. It's in close proximity to a couple of minor airport landing strips, too. There's even a Walmart on the outskirts of town.

US Highway 395 runs through parts of Adelanto, on the way towards the San Bernardino Forest to the south, and the Sequoia National Forest to the north. It connects to I-15 which can take you up to Los Angeles if you head west, or as far as Las Vegas if you keep going eastward.

You can buy a plot of the plentiful desert land and build your own house, get one of the foreclosed homes currently on the market, or move into one of the subdivisions. The average price of buying a home on the lower end of the spectrum will run you less than $300,000 in Adelanto.

If you want to live in a quiet, close-knit community town, Adelanto just might be your perfect Southern California fit!

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