Why California Alcoholic Beverage License prices differ from county to county:

California alcoholic beverage license prices vary among the 58 counties, so there is no actual set price.  An exception to this arises in the case of the sale of a new alcoholic beverage license obtained by the seller through the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control lottery, where there is a limit on the selling price for a specified period of time. Generally, alcoholic beverage license values are based in part on supply and demand, along with sellers dictating their own asking price.  Most counties have an average established price.  However, if there is an abundance of alcoholic beverage licenses, the price will often be less than average, but if an alcoholic beverage license in a particular county is hard to find, then the price could be higher.