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

All states·California·Davis

Yolo County · Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom · population 67,125

Renter-friendly
Davis, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Davis, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
50
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Davis stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $850,903
1-year -1.9%
5-yr CAGR +2.6%
vs 5-yr peak -4.0%
Population +0.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$851k$523k$656k$789k$922k201620182020202220242026

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
51/100
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
$2,498/mo$1,839$2,257$2,676202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent113128100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 28.4
Rent

At a 28.4 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Davis 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
41 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
50 · w22%
Distance from peak
66 · w18%
Population growth
47 · w16%
Rent YoY
43 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
56 · w10%
Long thesis

Davis has held up across the cycle: home values at $850,903 with +2.6% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Davis carries a $850,903 median home with only -1.9% 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 Davis

Davis is a city in Yolo County, California, with an estimated population of 67,125. It anchors the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area. The median home value in Davis is $850,903 as of 2026-04, down 1.9% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.6% annual growth (-4.0% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Davis average $2,498 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (-0.4%). 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

○The data is the data: Davis 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 $850,903 with only -1.9% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Davis (Wikipedia)

Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of California, Davis, which was over 9,400 in 2016. As of 2023, there were 40,850 students enrolled at the university, which is known as the biking capital of America.

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

City facts

MayorBapu VaitlaCite web
Area10.01 sq mi
Elevation52 ft
Rail Depot1868
Density6703.77/sq mi
Named forJerome C. Davis

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 Yolo County right now.

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

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

Neighborhoods of Davis

34 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Lake Alhambre$1,469,161-1.1%
2Arbors at Oakshade$1,421,318+0.5%
3El Macero Estates$1,373,498-1.3%
4Willowbank$1,230,210-0.4%
5Northstar$1,223,232-4.9%
6Wildhorse$1,094,701+2.2%
7Evergreen Meadows$1,031,848-2.9%
8Ranch Macero$1,003,718+0.3%
9Evergreen$988,903-4.3%
10Central Davis$962,877-2.1%
11Graystone Centex Homes$951,179-1.9%
12Sycamore South$936,545-5.0%
13Willowcreek$935,013-5.7%
14Aspen$926,976-0.5%
15West Davis Manor$908,628-3.2%
16Richmond American Homes$903,514-2.0%
17Grande$894,883-1.5%
18University Avenue$883,715+0.5%
19Oeste Manor$882,486-4.8%
20West Park$872,592+2.1%
21Mace Ranch$861,093-3.5%
22Stonegate$852,978-0.6%
23Village Homes$848,996-2.9%
24Old Davis North$833,900+2.9%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Davis

Petaluma, CA51 · StableWalnut Creek, CA52 · StableCitrus Heights, CA52 · StableVacaville, CA50 · Stable

Run the numbers for Davis

ToolCan I afford Davis?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Davis rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Davis to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolDavis 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 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 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 Davis 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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