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

All states·California·Stockton

San Joaquin County · Stockton · population 324,975

Big-city amenities
Stockton, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Stockton, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
49
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Stockton stands

Home values down 3.6% in the last year.

Median home $431,297
1-year -3.6%
5-yr CAGR +2.3%
vs 5-yr peak -7.6%
Population +0.3%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-07$431k$213k$304k$394k$485k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
52/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
38/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
68/100
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
$1,979/mo$1,526$1,827$2,128202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent112122100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 18.2
Lean buy

At a 18.2 price-to-rent ratio, Stockton 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
32 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
49 · w22%
Distance from peak
52 · w18%
Population growth
51 · w16%
Rent YoY
54 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
71 · w10%
Long thesis

Stockton has held up across the cycle: home values at $431,297 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

Stockton 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 Stockton

Stockton is a city in San Joaquin County, California, with an estimated population of 324,975. The median home value in Stockton is $431,297 as of 2026-04, down 3.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.3% annual growth (-7.6% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Stockton average $1,979 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.4%). 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: Stockton 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

●Cooling: -3.6% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Stockton (Wikipedia)

Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, United States. It is the most populous city in the county, the 11th-most populous city in California and the 60th-most populous city in the U.S, with 320,804 residents at the 2020 census. The city is located on the San Joaquin River in the northern San Joaquin Valley, within California's Central Valley. It lies at the southeastern corner of a large inland river delta that isolates it from other nearby cities, such as Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area.

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

City facts

MayorChristina Fugazi
Area66.387 sq mi
Elevation13 ft
Founded1849
Motto"Stockton: All American City"
Densityauto/sq mi
Named forRobert F. Stockton

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

Neighborhoods of Stockton

37 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Brookside$600,910-2.7%
2Spanos Park West$584,313-3.5%
3Elkhorn$565,810-5.3%
4Spanos Park East$547,477-4.0%
5La Morada$543,999-4.0%
6Weston Ranch$487,429-4.6%
7El Pinal$483,295-4.3%
8Creekside – Wagner$472,929-4.1%
9Lincoln Village West$462,160-3.2%
10Parkwoods$461,071-2.0%
11Quail Lakes – Venetian Bridges$455,321-1.4%
12Weber Ranch$451,947-3.0%
13Stonewood$447,021-2.7%
14Colonial Heights$437,290-5.0%
15Holiday Park$403,437-3.5%
16Van Buskirk$403,134-3.6%
17Ponce de Leon$393,372-2.5%
18Tam O'Shanter$393,078-2.4%
19Stockton Metropolitan Airport$389,193-4.9%
20Mariposa$388,969-5.3%
21Anderson$388,806-3.1%
22University$385,839-4.5%
23Country Club$384,760-1.6%
24Fox Creek$368,483-4.9%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Stockton

Elk Grove, CA52 · StableSacramento, CA50 · StableFairfield, CA50 · StableAntioch, CA45 · Cooling

Run the numbers for Stockton

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

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Stockton 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 sports teams

Major professional teams the Stockton 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.

Cities similar to Stockton

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

See all California cities →    Browse best-of lists →