Living in Calabasas: Home Prices, Schools, Safety and Daily Life

The celebrity headlines grab attention, but median home prices in Calabasas have increased by 25.52% year-over-year, and now stand at $1,820,000 in 2026, which says more about what living in Calabasas actually costs than any paparazzi photo does. Behind the gated estates is a Santa Monica Mountains community with strong schools, low crime and neighborhoods that keep residents for reasons that have nothing to do with fame.

What Is the Median Home Price in Calabasas in 2026?

The Calabasas real estate market is sending mixed signals. The median sale price is $1,820,000 (up 25.52% year over year), yet homes are sitting on the market for 96 days. Inventory is thin at a 1.33 month supply and the number of sales is up 55.17% year over year, so demand has not gone anywhere; buyers are simply taking their time and negotiating harder. Be aware that the headline number depends on the source and the month. Redfin put the median sale price at $1.4M for one recent month (up 25.8% year over year), while January 2026 data showed a median sold price of $1,775,000, a median new listing price of $2,410,000 and a median active listing price of $2,699,000. In a community this size, a few estate closings can swing the median considerably. The negotiating dynamics lean toward buyers. The sale-to-list price ratio was roughly 95 to 96% in January 2026, meaning sellers are typically accepting a few percent below asking. Only 11.11% of homes sold over asking price, unchanged from a year earlier, and the share of listings with a price reduction climbed from 66.67% to 77.78%. If you're considering selling your home in Calabasas, these market conditions require careful timing and pricing strategies.

How Good Are Calabasas Schools and How Safe Is the Area?

Education quality drives many family relocations to Calabasas. Calabasas High School carries a Niche grade of A and a GreatSchools rating of 9 out of 10. The average GPA is 3.68, the graduation rate is 95%, and average test scores run about 1330 on the SAT and 30 on the ACT. The school ranks 439th in California and 57% of students take at least one AP course. Calabasas High is one of 17 schools in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, and a large share of the district's schools rate above average for school quality. Safety statistics back up the family reputation. Calabasas has an overall crime rate 26% below the national average, which works out to roughly one reported incident per day, nearly all of it property crime. The most recent annual figures show 33 violent crimes (146 per 100,000 residents, 60.6% below the national rate) and 356 property crimes (1,573 per 100,000, 19.5% below the national rate), with no murders reported. By that data, Calabasas is safer than 83% of California cities and 58% of U.S. cities.

What Amenities and Local Businesses Make Calabasas Attractive?

The Commons at Calabasas serves as the community's social and commercial heart. It is an open-air center with Mediterranean architecture, heavy landscaping and fountains, and it is where much of the town runs into each other on a Saturday. The center is in the middle of an expansion. Construction was scheduled to begin in January 2026, with the new residential building (80 apartment homes) slated for completion in fall 2027. The developer plans to open the new shops and restaurants first, roughly midway through the project: a dozen or more additional stores and dining spots, mostly along the north side of Commons Lane. Current tenants include Sugarfish by Nozawa for sushi, King's Fish House for seafood and Marmalade Cafe for American fare, along with retailers such as Barnes & Noble, See's Candies and Lululemon. The outdoor access is the real draw for many residents. Malibu Creek State Park, four miles south of the 101 on Las Virgenes Road (1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas 91302), sits within the Santa Monica Mountains on the former 20th Century Fox movie ranch and offers hiking, fishing, bird watching, mountain biking, rock climbing and horseback riding. AllTrails lists 42 trails in the Calabasas area; the Rock Pool and Century Lake trails are the local favorites, averaging a 4.6 star rating across 1,972 reviews.

How Does Living in Calabasas Compare to Nearby Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks?

Price differences between neighboring communities are significant, though the exact figures move month to month and vary by source. Trailing 12 month data put the median single-family sale in Westlake Village at about $1.75 million (versus the roughly $1.60 million figure in the table above), with plenty of homes trading at $3 to 4 million or more. Thousand Oaks came in around $1,025,000 and Newbury Park around $950,000. Westlake Village earns its premium with polish: the landscaping, the restaurants, the theaters and the retail are maintained to a standard the rest of the Conejo Valley does not quite match. The tradeoff is that everyone within a half hour drive knows it, so its commercial core draws traffic from well beyond the city's own residents. Calabasas sits between Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks on price, with schools and safety numbers that hold up against either, and The Commons, while busy, does not pull the same regional crowds that Westlake Village's shopping areas do.

What Is Daily Life Actually Like in Calabasas?

The demographic profile shapes community character. Calabasas has a population of about 22,869 and a median age of 42.9, which skews somewhat older, as established suburbs tend to. About 69% of residents own their homes, which usually means stable streets and owners who stick around. Here is what the cost actually looks like. Using a median home value of $1,688,281 (a valuation estimate, which runs below the sale price medians quoted above), 20% down and a 6.5% mortgage rate puts principal and interest at roughly $8,537 per month, before property taxes and insurance. The city's effective property tax rate is 0.71%, or about $11,987 a year on that value. Keep in mind that rate averages in long-time owners whose assessments are capped under Proposition 13; a new buyer's tax bill is based on the purchase price and will typically be higher, so run the numbers with your CPA before relying on it. Resident feedback is consistent on the positives: the schools, the safety and the amount of time kids spend outdoors. The common criticism is the lack of economic diversity, which is a fair one at these price points. Geographically, you are in the Santa Monica Mountains, about a half hour from Los Angeles (without traffic, which is doing a lot of work in that sentence) and roughly 15 minutes over the hill to the Malibu beaches. Heat is the climate factor to plan for. Projections call for about 8 days over 98ºF this year, rising to about 20 such days within 30 years, a 185% increase.

Frequently Asked Questions About Living in Calabasas California

Is Calabasas really as celebrity-focused as the media suggests?

While celebrities do live in the area and are occasionally spotted at The Commons, the day-to-day reality focuses on excellent schools, outdoor recreation, and family life. The Las Virgenes Unified School District's high performance and proximity to hiking trails in the Santa Monica Mountains drive most residential decisions, not celebrity sightings. If you are curious whether celebrity neighbors actually move property values, nearby Hidden Hills is the better case study.