El Cerrito, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·El Cerrito

Contra Costa County · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley · population 26,409

El Cerrito, CA
Image: Wikipedia · El Cerrito, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
41
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where El Cerrito stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $1,144,260
1-year -2.4%
5-yr CAGR -0.2%
vs 5-yr peak -14.5%
Population +0.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-05$1144k$761k$971k$1181k$1392k201620182020202220242026

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
40/100
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
$2,651/mo$2,210$2,529$2,848202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent99113100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 36.0
Rent

At a 36.0 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in El Cerrito 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
38 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
34 · w22%
Distance from peak
32 · w18%
Population growth
54 · w16%
Rent YoY
54 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
50 · w10%
Long thesis

El Cerrito has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,144,260 with -0.2% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

El Cerrito carries a $1,144,260 median home with only -2.4% 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 El Cerrito

El Cerrito is a city in Contra Costa County, California, with an estimated population of 26,409. It anchors the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The median home value in El Cerrito is $1,144,260 as of 2026-04, down 2.4% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged -0.2% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 14% below its 5-year peak. Rents in El Cerrito average $2,651 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.3%). The composite momentum score is 41 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: El Cerrito 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 $1,144,260 with only -2.4% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Cooling: -2.4% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
●14% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.

About El Cerrito (Wikipedia)

El Cerrito is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 25,962 according to the 2020 census. El Cerrito was founded by refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was incorporated in 1917 as a village with 1,500 residents. As of the census in 2022, there were 25,583 people and 10,637 households in the city.

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 Contra Costa County right now.

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

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

Cities like El Cerrito

West Hollywood, CA42 · CoolingAlameda, CA44 · CoolingEast Palo Alto, CA34 · CoolingFortuna, CA37 · Cooling

Run the numbers for El Cerrito

ToolCan I afford El Cerrito?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a El Cerrito rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare El Cerrito to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolEl Cerrito 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 El Cerrito 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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