Lancaster, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Lancaster.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Lancaster compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 170,013City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $76,083Incorporated place (ACS)Near U.S. avg ($78,538)U.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 130ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)30% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $409,100City limits (ACS)35% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,696City limits (ACS)26% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 5.3%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 35 min40% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 3522% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 852.9annualized per 100k · citywide42% above U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 2100annualized per 100k · citywide32% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 96°F9.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 32°F2.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 6.8 in79% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 33727% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Lancaster with another city
Relocators eyeing Lancaster, California will find roughly 170,013 residents within city limits. Median household income is roughly $76,083, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 130 — above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Budget for median rents around $1,696 a month before you lock a neighborhood.
Lancaster is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Lancaster with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 337 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Plan on roughly 35 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 35. Unemployment recently ran near 5.3%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. FBI CDE violent-offense rates run comparatively high (~852.9 per 100k annualized), so block-by-block due diligence is especially important.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Lancaster city, 1600000US0640130)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN060370000000003 (Los Angeles County, June 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00003159 LANCASTER WM J FOX FLD)
Last updated 2026-07-28