Solano County · Vallejo · population 26,477
Where Benicia stands
Population shrinking 0.6% per year.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
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 · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 26.8 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Benicia 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 →Benicia has held up across the cycle: home values at $786,453 with +2.7% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.
Benicia's population is shrinking 0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.
About Benicia
Benicia is a city in Solano County, California, with an estimated population of 26,477. It anchors the Vallejo metro area. The population has contracted 0.6% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Benicia is $786,453 as of 2026-04, down 0.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.7% annual growth (-3.8% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Benicia average $2,446 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (-0.5%). The composite momentum score is 50 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.
▲ Bull case
▼ Bear case
About Benicia (Wikipedia)
Benicia is a city in Solano County, California, on the north bank of the Carquinez Strait in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 27,131 at the 2020 United States census. Benicia is just east of Vallejo and across the strait from Martinez.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Playbook
Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.
Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.
Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Solano County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Solano County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Cities like Benicia
Run the numbers for Benicia
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Benicia listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news
- Karen Sue Killian Obituary – Benicia, CA (1942-2026)Times Herald Online · 3d ago
- California’s Fuel Fears Threaten Benicia’s ‘Just Transition’ to Green EconomyKQED · 2w ago
- Child fatally shoots family member in self defense at Benicia home on London Circle in domestic violence incident, police sayABC7 San Francisco · 2w ago
- Child fatally shoots relative in Benicia; police cite possible self-defenseKTVU · 2w ago
- Benicia: 1 Dead In Shooting Sparked By Alleged Domestic Violence Attack ThursdaySFGATE · 2w ago
- 4 Best Towns Near San Francisco For RetireesWorldAtlas · 1w ago
Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Vallejo area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
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.
Cities similar to Benicia
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.