Alameda, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Alameda

Alameda County · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley · population 78,795

Alameda, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Alameda, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
44
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Alameda stands

Home values down 3.3% in the last year.

Median home $1,162,241
1-year -3.3%
5-yr CAGR +0.6%
vs 5-yr peak -13.0%
Population +0.2%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$1162k$806k$1001k$1195k$1390k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
64/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
44/100
Marginal for remote
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,883/mo$2,347$2,702$3,056202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent103115100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 33.6
Rent

At a 33.6 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Alameda for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
34 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
39 · w22%
Distance from peak
36 · w18%
Population growth
48 · w16%
Rent YoY
75 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
46 · w10%
Long thesis

Alameda has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,162,241 with +0.6% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Alameda carries a $1,162,241 median home with only -3.3% YoY. Premium pricing in a flat tape is the bear setup — you're paying for the trend that already ran while new buyers can't afford to extend it.

About Alameda

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, with an estimated population of 78,795. It anchors the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The median home value in Alameda is $1,162,241 as of 2026-04, down 3.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +0.6% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 13% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Alameda average $2,883 per month, up 4.4% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 44 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: Alameda has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,162,241 with only -3.3% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Cooling: -3.3% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
●13% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.

About Alameda (Wikipedia)

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipelago in San Francisco Bay, consisting of Alameda Island, Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, along with other smaller islands. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 78,280.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorMarilyn Ezzy AshcraftCite web
Area22.98 sq mi
Elevation33 ft
FoundedJune 6, 1853April 19, 1854
NicknameThe Island City
Motto''Prosperita terra mari que''("Prosperity from the land and the sea")
Density7491.63/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

You have leverage. Negotiate price, ask for closing-cost credits, and don't waive inspection. Walk-away power is real in a Cooling market — use it.

Seller

Price aggressively (at or below recent sold comps) or be prepared to wait. Concessions — rate buydowns, closing costs, repair credits — are how deals close right now.

Investor

Cap rates are more attractive than they were 12 months ago but the appreciation tailwind is gone. Confirm tenant demand, vacancy rates, and exit liquidity before committing capital.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Alameda County right now.

NWS active alerts (CA)California Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Alameda County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Alameda

13 tracked · ranked by median home value
1East Shore$1,603,829+0.0%
2Gold Coast$1,532,983-1.0%
3Fernside$1,471,890-1.9%
4Harbor Bay Isle$1,465,147-2.1%
5Marina$1,327,021-2.4%
6Bronze Coast$1,305,316-0.6%
7East End$1,207,021-1.4%
8West End$1,051,747-3.9%
9Central$1,009,189-2.5%
10South Shore$1,000,046-4.2%
11Bay Farm Island$982,258-5.7%
12Marina Village$976,979+0.5%
13Ballena Bay$969,480-5.6%

Cities like Alameda

Concord, CA44 · CoolingPittsburg, CA43 · CoolingAntioch, CA45 · CoolingMartinez, CA41 · Cooling

Run the numbers for Alameda

ToolCan I afford Alameda?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Alameda rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Alameda to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolAlameda cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 60°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
258
~71% of year
Annual precip
22″ rain
8″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Alameda listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
65%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$91,500
California state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechEntertainmentAgriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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