Oakland, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Oakland.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Oakland 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
- 438,072City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $97,369Incorporated place (ACS)24% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 223ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)123% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $924,700City limits (ACS)205% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,917City limits (ACS)42% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.8%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 33 min32% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 7260% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 1271.8annualized per 100k · citywide111% above U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 6420.7annualized per 100k · citywide108% above U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 72°F15.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 43°F9.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 18.7 in43% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 29712% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Oakland with another city
Oakland, California counts about 438,072 residents inside the city limits. Median household income is roughly $97,369, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 223 — well above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $924,700 push many newcomers toward renting first.
Oakland sits in that mid-to-large city band where urban and quieter residential pockets often share one municipal boundary. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Oakland with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 297 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Plan on roughly 33 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 72. Unemployment recently ran near 3.8%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. FBI CDE violent-offense rates run comparatively high (~1271.8 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 (Oakland city, 1600000US0653000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN060010000000003 (Alameda County, May 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 (USW00023230 OAKLAND METRO INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28