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

All states·California·Lafayette

Contra Costa County · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley · population 25,371

OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
49
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Lafayette stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $1,956,403
1-year -0.4%
5-yr CAGR +2.1%
vs 5-yr peak -10.2%
Population -0.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$1956k$1220k$1568k$1917k$2265k201620182020202220242026

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
$3,544/mo$2,966$3,378$3,791202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent111112100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 46.0
Rent

At a 46.0 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Lafayette 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
48 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
48 · w22%
Distance from peak
44 · w18%
Population growth
45 · w16%
Rent YoY
68 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
51 · w10%
Long thesis

Lafayette has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,956,403 with +2.1% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Lafayette carries a $1,956,403 median home with only -0.4% 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 Lafayette

Lafayette is a city in Contra Costa County, California, with an estimated population of 25,371. It anchors the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The median home value in Lafayette is $1,956,403 as of 2026-04, down 0.4% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.1% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 10% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Lafayette average $3,544 per month, up 3.4% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 49 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: Lafayette 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 $1,956,403 with only -0.4% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●10% off recent peak — buyers are getting through-the-cycle pricing, not the peak.

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 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.

Neighborhoods of Lafayette

10 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Silver Springs$2,828,331-1.7%
2Spring Hill Valley$2,503,936-1.8%
3Happy Valley Highlands$2,279,538+6.9%
4Tanglewood$2,096,028-6.6%
5Pleasant Hills and Valleys$2,059,341-0.8%
6Acalanes Valley$1,947,049+0.0%
7Circle Creek$1,909,444-1.2%
8Saint Mary's Orchard$1,809,310+2.1%
9Lafayette Valley Estates$1,586,447+0.1%
10Springbrook$1,516,227+1.0%

Cities like Lafayette

Orinda, CA48 · StableFoster City, CA54 · StableNovato, CA50 · StableCulver City, CA54 · Stable

Run the numbers for Lafayette

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