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

All states·California·Hollister

San Benito County · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara · population 45,033

Hollister, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Hollister, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
54
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Hollister stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $763,177
1-year -1.0%
5-yr CAGR +1.3%
vs 5-yr peak -10.2%
Population +2.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-05$763k$487k$619k$752k$884k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
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
62/100
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
$2,950/mo$2,391$2,760$3,128202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent97112100202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 21.6
Lean rent

At a 21.6 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Hollister. 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
45 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
43 · w22%
Distance from peak
44 · w18%
Population growth
79 · w16%
Rent YoY
73 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
53 · w10%
Long thesis

Hollister has held up across the cycle: home values at $763,177 with +1.3% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Hollister is a West Coast market off recent highs, and the regional fundamentals (taxes, regulation, out-migration) are still working against it. The bear case isn't that prices go to zero — it's that they don't recover meaningfully for years.

About Hollister

Hollister is a city in San Benito County, California, with an estimated population of 45,033. It anchors the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. The population grew 2.0% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Hollister is $763,177 as of 2026-04, down 1.0% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +1.3% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 10% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Hollister average $2,950 per month, up 4.3% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 54 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Net positive migration: population up 2.0% per year — demand fundamentals are intact.
○The data is the data: Hollister has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $763,177 with only -1.0% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●10% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.

About Hollister (Wikipedia)

Hollister is a city in and the county seat of San Benito County located in the Central Coast region of California, United States. With a 2020 United States census population of 41,678, Hollister is one of the most populous cities in the Monterey Bay Area and a member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. The city is an agricultural town known primarily for its local Blenheim apricots, olive oil, vineyards, pomegranates, and chocolate.

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

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 San Benito 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 Benito County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Hollister

Dixon, CA54 · StableGalt, CA51 · StableFolsom, CA55 · StableRocklin, CA52 · Stable

Run the numbers for Hollister

ToolCan I afford Hollister?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Hollister rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Hollister to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolHollister 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 Hollister 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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