Folks paying a fee to their homeowners association or condominium board can be a passionate group.

Several readers were irked by a recent column that detailed HOA fees on a state level, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2024 cost data was the first time the bureau has broken out this homeowner expense.

One complaint was that California’s $278 median monthly fee, as calculated by the bureau, didn’t align with critics’ reality. They pay far more, suggesting that statewide data somehow hides the highest fees.

Well, the median is the price where half pay more and half pay less. It’s a statistical tool that helps compare geographical patterns. For example, California’s median fees ranked ninth-highest among the states.

As a public service, my trusty spreadsheet took another dive

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