Cost of Living & Housing in Barstow
Barstow offers a genuinely affordable Mojave Desert cost of living -- though California's real 13.3% top marginal income tax rate and San Bernardino County's own wide-ranging property tax rate both apply here exactly as they do statewide.
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Learn moreGenuinely affordable housing, well below the California median
Barstow's average home value ran $266,998 as of July 2026 per Zillow (down 1.7% year-over-year), with a separately cited median sale price of $269,000 for May 2026 and a median list price of $274,000 for July 2026 -- most homes sell for between $150,000 and $400,000, and typically go to pending in roughly 23 days (base record). Regardless of the exact figure used, Barstow runs genuinely far below the California statewide median home price.
A property tax rate with a real, disclosed cross-source spread
San Bernardino County's effective property tax rate carries a real, disclosed spread across sources reviewed: approximately 0.70% per one 2026 county-ranking citation, up to a considerably higher 1.20% 'median effective rate' per a second citation, and 1.1%-1.4% for the 2025-26 assessment year per a third source -- this record uses 0.95% as a representative approximate figure (base record). California's Proposition 13 caps assessed-value growth at roughly 2% per year regardless of market appreciation, the same mechanic that applies statewide.
California's real 13.3% top income tax bracket -- the highest in the US
California's top marginal state income tax rate runs a real 13.3% on income over $1,000,000 (nine brackets from 1% to 12.3%, plus a distinct 1% Mental Health Services Act surcharge, not doubled for joint filers) -- applying to Barstow residents exactly as it does statewide, alongside a combined local sales tax rate of 8.75% (base record).
A roughly flat, genuinely small population base
Barstow's population ran an estimated 26,276 for 2026 per one projection, though a separately cited ACS estimate ran lower at 25,100 -- both close to the 2020 Census figure of 25,415, indicating a roughly flat trend rather than clear growth or decline (base record).
Key takeaways
- Barstow's average home value ran $266,998 as of July 2026, genuinely well below the California statewide median.
- San Bernardino County's effective property tax rate carries a real, disclosed cross-source spread (0.70%-1.40%).
- California's real 13.3% top marginal income tax rate and the real Proposition 13 assessed-value cap both apply here, the same as statewide.
- Barstow's population has stayed roughly flat over the past several years across the sources reviewed.
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