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

All states·California·Walnut

Los Angeles County · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · population 27,250

Shrinking
Walnut, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Walnut, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
59
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Walnut stands

At or near all-time high. population shrinking 1.1% per year.

Median home $1,195,691
1-year +0.6%
5-yr CAGR +6.2%
vs 5-yr peak -0.2%
Population -1.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-01$1196k$667k$860k$1053k$1246k201620182020202220242026

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
42/100
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
$3,638/mo$0$2,047$4,09420242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent1151078010020242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 27.4
Rent

At a 27.4 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Walnut 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
53 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
71 · w22%
Distance from peak
89 · w18%
Population growth
29 · w16%
Rent YoY
45 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
60 · w10%
Long thesis

Walnut has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,195,691 with +6.2% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Walnut's population is shrinking 1.1% 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 Walnut

Walnut is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with an estimated population of 27,250. It anchors the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. The population has contracted 1.1% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Walnut is $1,195,691 as of 2026-04, up 0.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +6.2% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Walnut average $3,638 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.0%). The composite momentum score is 59 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Healthy 5-year run: +6.2% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
●Held the highs: currently -0.2% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.

▼ Bear case

●Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.1% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
●Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,195,691 with only +0.6% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.

About Walnut (Wikipedia)

Walnut is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of eastern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 28,430.

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

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 Los Angeles County right now.

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

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

Cities like Walnut

Diamond Bar, CA60 · StableAgoura Hills, CA59 · StableCalabasas, CA55 · StableSan Dimas, CA58 · Stable

Run the numbers for Walnut

ToolCan I afford Walnut?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Walnut rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Walnut to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolWalnut 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Walnut listings on the major real-estate sites.

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

Local news & community

Latest news

More on Google News →

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.

Cities similar to Walnut

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

See all California cities →    Browse best-of lists →