California Mortgage Calculator
Estimated purchase price of the home.
That’s 20% of the home price.
Length of the mortgage in years.
Annual percentage rate.
Enter your estimated monthly property tax.
Estimated monthly home insurance premium.
Private mortgage insurance if down payment < 20%.
Homeowners association dues, if any.
Monthly Payment Breakdown
This estimate uses a fixed-rate amortization formula. Actual lender costs may vary.
Estimate your mortgage in California
California has diverse housing markets — coastal metro prices are higher while inland areas are lower. Use this calculator to estimate your payments for California homes.
State housing overview
California’s median home price exceeds $650,000, making it one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. Coastal metros such as Los Angeles and San Francisco are significantly higher, while inland areas like Fresno or Bakersfield remain more affordable. Buyers should also consider higher insurance costs in wildfire-prone regions.
Tips for California homebuyers
- Adjust property tax to your county — taxes in California vary widely by county and city.
- Insurance costs depend on location (coastal areas often pay more for homeowners insurance).
- Consider a larger down payment to avoid PMI and lower monthly payments.
How to calculate your payments using a mortgage calculator
Here’s how to use our mortgage calculator to easily estimate your monthly mortgage payment:
1. Enter your home price
In the Home Price field, input the purchase price (or current value if refinancing).
2. Enter your down payment
Provide the Down Payment as a dollar amount or percentage of the home price.
3. Choose your loan term
Enter the loan length — typically 30 years, but 20, 15, or 10 years are also common.
4. Enter your interest rate
Use your expected or current interest rate. You can adjust the default average shown in the calculator.
5. See your results instantly
As you type, your monthly mortgage payment updates in real time — no need to click a button. This makes it easy to experiment with different scenarios and compare options instantly.
Our mortgage calculator also estimates property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA fees. You can adjust these amounts, or even set them to zero, while shopping for a loan.
Under the Amortization tab, you can add extra payments to see how prepaying your mortgage impacts your payoff timeline and total interest savings.
Pro tip: Try different down payments, loan terms, and interest rates to discover the best mortgage strategy for your budget.
How a mortgage calculator can help you
Our mortgage calculator can guide many of the key decisions related to buying a home or refinancing your mortgage. Here’s how it can help:
1. Know if you’re spending too much
See how much you’ll pay monthly, including property taxes and homeowners insurance. This helps you check if your homebuying budget fits within your DTI ratio.
2. Compare different loan terms
Use the calculator to compare 10-, 15-, 20-, and 30-year loans. Shorter terms mean lower interest rates but higher monthly payments.
3. Evaluate your down payment
See how different down payment amounts impact your monthly payment, loan size, and total cost over time.
4. Explore paying off your loan early
Add extra payments in the amortization schedule to learn how quickly you can pay off your mortgage and save on interest.
5. Find out when you can remove PMI
Use the calculator to track when you’ll reach 20% home equity. At that point, you can request your lender to remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) on conventional loans.