Buena Park, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Buena Park

Orange County · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · population 82,611

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Buena Park, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Buena Park, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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60
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Buena Park stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $940,393
1-year +0.3%
5-yr CAGR +5.4%
vs 5-yr peak -0.3%
Population -0.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-02$940k$460k$633k$807k$981k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
64/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
52/100
Workable for remote workers
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
$2,666/mo$1,882$2,375$2,867202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent130132100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 29.4
Rent

At a 29.4 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Buena Park 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
51 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
67 · w22%
Distance from peak
88 · w18%
Population growth
39 · w16%
Rent YoY
42 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
72 · w10%
Long thesis

Buena Park has held up across the cycle: home values at $940,393 with +5.4% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Buena Park carries a $940,393 median home with only +0.3% 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 Buena Park

Buena Park is a city in Orange County, California, with an estimated population of 82,611. It anchors the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. The median home value in Buena Park is $940,393 as of 2026-04, up 0.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.4% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Buena Park average $2,666 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (-0.6%). The composite momentum score is 60 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Healthy 5-year run: +5.4% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
●Held the highs: currently -0.3% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $940,393 with only +0.3% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Flat or shrinking population: -0.4% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.

About Buena Park (Wikipedia)

Buena Park is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, including Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown Santa Ana, the county seat, and is within the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

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

City facts

MayorConnor Traut
Area10.55 sq mi
Elevation75 ft
Founded1887
Motto"Center of the Southland"
Density7981.19/sq mi

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

Playbook

Buyer

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.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

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 Orange County right now.

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

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

Cities like Buena Park

La Habra, CA62 · RisingHighland, CA61 · StableUpland, CA62 · RisingWest Covina, CA62 · Rising

Run the numbers for Buena Park

ToolCan I afford Buena Park?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Buena Park rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Buena Park to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBuena Park 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Buena Park 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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