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

All states·California·Pacifica

San Mateo County · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley · population 37,056

Shrinking
Pacifica, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Pacifica, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
46
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Pacifica stands

Population shrinking 1.0% per year. rents up 6.1% in the last year.

Median home $1,277,575
1-year -1.9%
5-yr CAGR +0.8%
vs 5-yr peak -10.1%
Population -1.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-05$1278k$808k$1031k$1255k$1478k201620182020202220242026

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
38/100
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
$3,597/mo$2,767$3,319$3,870202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent104121100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 29.6
Rent

At a 29.6 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Pacifica 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
40 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
40 · w22%
Distance from peak
45 · w18%
Population growth
29 · w16%
Rent YoY
85 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
54 · w10%
Long thesis

Pacifica has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,277,575 with +0.8% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Pacifica's population is shrinking 1.0% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Pacifica

Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, with an estimated population of 37,056. It anchors the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The population has contracted 1.0% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Pacifica is $1,277,575 as of 2026-04, down 1.9% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +0.8% annual growth, and the market currently sits about 10% below its 5-year peak. Rents in Pacifica average $3,597 per month, up 6.1% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 46 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

●Hot rental market: rents up 6.1% YoY — landlords have pricing power, supports new investment math.
○The data is the data: Pacifica 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

●Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.0% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
●Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,277,575 with only -1.9% 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 Pacifica (Wikipedia)

Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay. As of the 2020 census, Pacifica had a population of 38,640.

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

Cities like Pacifica

West Hollywood, CA42 · CoolingWindsor, CA50 · StablePleasant Hill, CA46 · CoolingCloverdale, CA45 · Cooling

Run the numbers for Pacifica

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