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

All states·California·Lincoln

Placer County · Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom · population 56,268

Growing fast
Lincoln, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Lincoln, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
58
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Lincoln stands

Population growing 3.1% per year.

Median home $646,100
1-year -1.6%
5-yr CAGR +2.3%
vs 5-yr peak -8.4%
Population +3.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$646k$384k$500k$617k$733k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
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
73/100
Strong 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 trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$3,058/mo$2,311$2,776$3,241202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent112124100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 17.6
Lean buy

At a 17.6 price-to-rent ratio, Lincoln is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
42 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
49 · w22%
Distance from peak
50 · w18%
Population growth
90 · w16%
Rent YoY
75 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
58 · w10%
Long thesis

Lincoln has held up across the cycle: home values at $646,100 with +2.3% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Lincoln 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 Lincoln

Lincoln is a city in Placer County, California, with an estimated population of 56,268. It anchors the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area. The population has grown 3.1% per year on average between 2020 and 2024 — among the faster-growing communities in the state. The median home value in Lincoln is $646,100 as of 2026-04, down 1.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.3% annual growth (-8.4% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Lincoln average $3,058 per month, up 4.5% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 58 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●People are voting with their feet: population growing 3.1% per year since 2020 — that’s faster than ~80% of US cities.
○The data is the data: Lincoln 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

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Lincoln (Wikipedia)

Lincoln is a city in Placer County, California, United States, part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. Located 10 miles (16 km) north of Roseville in an area of rapid suburban development, it grew 282 percent between 2000 and 2010, making it the fastest-growing city over 10,000 people in the U.S. Its population was 49,757 at the 2020 census.

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

City facts

MayorRichard Pearl (since December 9, 2025)
Area24.21 sq mi
Elevation167 ft
IncorporatedAugust 7, 1890
Density2058.6/sq mi

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 Placer County right now.

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

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

Cities like Lincoln

Folsom, CA55 · StableRoseville, CA58 · StableHollister, CA54 · StableDixon, CA54 · Stable

Run the numbers for Lincoln

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