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

Stanislaus County · Modesto · population 23,209

Small-town feel
View watchlist →
61
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Oakdale stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $558,959
1-year +0.8%
5-yr CAGR +3.4%
vs 5-yr peak -0.2%
Population +0.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-07$559k$299k$394k$488k$583k201620182020202220242026

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
72/100
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 vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 24.9
Lean rent

At a 24.9 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Oakdale. 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
54 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
56 · w22%
Distance from peak
89 · w18%
Population growth
46 · w16%
Home 10-yr CAGR
66 · w10%
Long thesis

Oakdale has held up across the cycle: home values at $558,959 with +3.4% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Oakdale's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Oakdale

Oakdale is a city in Stanislaus County, California, with an estimated population of 23,209. It anchors the Modesto metro area. The median home value in Oakdale is $558,959 as of 2026-04, up 0.8% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.4% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Oakdale average $1,874 per month. The composite momentum score is 61 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

Bull case

Held the highs: currently -0.2% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
The data is the data: Oakdale 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.

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 Stanislaus County right now.

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

Cities like Oakdale

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.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Oakdale listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Modesto area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

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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