Union City, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Union City

Alameda County · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley · population 66,196

Shrinking
Union City, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Union City, California
View watchlist →
46
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Union City stands

Home values down 6.1% in the last year. population shrinking 1.4% per year.

Median home $1,265,098
1-year -6.1%
5-yr CAGR +3.6%
vs 5-yr peak -6.5%
Population -1.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-05$1265k$673k$918k$1163k$1408k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
52/100
Somewhat walkable
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
$2,717/mo$2,171$2,526$2,880202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent119118100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 38.8
Rent

At a 38.8 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Union City 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
20 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
57 · w22%
Distance from peak
55 · w18%
Population growth
23 · w16%
Rent YoY
69 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
66 · w10%
Long thesis

Union City has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,265,098 with +3.6% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Union City is down 6.1% over the last 12 months and the trend isn't flattening. Falling knife rule applies: you don't catch one with your hands, you wait for it to hit the floor and stop moving.

About Union City

Union City is a city in Alameda County, California, with an estimated population of 66,196. It anchors the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The population has contracted 1.4% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Union City is $1,265,098 as of 2026-04, down 6.1% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.6% annual growth (-6.5% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Union City average $2,717 per month, up 3.7% 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

The data is the data: Union City 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

Prices actively falling: down 6.1% in the last 12 months — buyer sentiment has flipped. Sellers competing on price.
Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.4% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,265,098 with only -6.1% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.

About Union City (Wikipedia)

Union City is a city in Alameda County, California, United States in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population in the 2020 census was 70,143, up from 69,628 in the 2010 census. A 2026 population estimate puts the city at 67,464 residents.

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

City facts

MayorGary Singh
Area19.18 sq mi
EstablishedJanuary 26, 1959Cite web
Densityauto/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

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 Alameda County right now.

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

Cities like Union City

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 Union City 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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