East Palo Alto, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·East Palo Alto

San Mateo County · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley · population 29,296

Shrinking
East Palo Alto, CA
Image: Wikipedia · East Palo Alto, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
34
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where East Palo Alto stands

Home values down 3.1% in the last year. population shrinking 0.6% per year.

Median home $1,037,416
1-year -3.1%
5-yr CAGR -1.4%
vs 5-yr peak -14.0%
Population -0.6%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-05$1037k$709k$891k$1072k$1254k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
26/100
Poor remote-work fit
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 vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 20.5
Lean rent

At a 20.5 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in East Palo Alto. Owner-occupier ROI requires longer holds and the assumption that prices keep appreciating roughly at the rate of rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
35 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
27 · w22%
Distance from peak
33 · w18%
Population growth
36 · w16%
Home 10-yr CAGR
48 · w10%
Long thesis

East Palo Alto has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,037,416 with -1.4% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

East Palo Alto'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 East Palo Alto

East Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County, California, with an estimated population of 29,296. It anchors the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The population has contracted 0.6% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in East Palo Alto is $1,037,416 as of 2026-04, down 3.1% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged -1.4% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 14% below its 5-year peak. Rents in East Palo Alto average $4,218 per month. The composite momentum score is 34 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: East Palo Alto 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 $1,037,416 with only -3.1% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Cooling: -3.1% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
●14% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.
●Flat or shrinking population: -0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.

About East Palo Alto (Wikipedia)

East Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 30,034. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose. To the north and east is the San Francisco Bay, to the west is the city of Menlo Park, and to the south the city of Palo Alto. East Palo Alto was founded as an unincorporated community and was incorporated in July 1983. The two cities are separated only by San Francisquito Creek and, largely, the Bayshore Freeway. The revitalization projects in 2000, and high income high-tech professionals moving into new developments, including employees from Google and Facebook, have begun to slowly eliminate the historically wide cultural and economic differences between the two cities. East Palo Alto and Palo Alto share both telephone area codes and postal ZIP codes.

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

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 San Mateo County right now.

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

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

Cities like East Palo Alto

Arcata, CA38 · CoolingEl Cerrito, CA41 · CoolingEureka, CA38 · CoolingSt. Helena, CA32 · Declining

Run the numbers for East Palo Alto

ToolCan I afford East Palo Alto?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a East Palo Alto rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare East Palo Alto to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolEast Palo Alto 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 East Palo Alto 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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