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

All states·California·Yuba City

Sutter County · Yuba City · population 69,148

Yuba City, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Yuba City, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
55
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Yuba City stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $443,647
1-year +0.1%
5-yr CAGR +2.8%
vs 5-yr peak -3.9%
Population -0.3%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-07$444k$222k$308k$394k$480k201620182020202220242026

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
76/100
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
$1,917/mo$1,570$1,801$2,032202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent101115100202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 19.3
Lean buy

At a 19.3 price-to-rent ratio, Yuba City 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
50 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
52 · w22%
Distance from peak
67 · w18%
Population growth
40 · w16%
Rent YoY
57 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
70 · w10%
Long thesis

Yuba City has held up across the cycle: home values at $443,647 with +2.8% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Yuba City'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 Yuba City

Yuba City is a city in Sutter County, California, with an estimated population of 69,148. The median home value in Yuba City is $443,647 as of 2026-04, up 0.1% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.8% annual growth (-3.9% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Yuba City average $1,917 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.7%). The composite momentum score is 55 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: Yuba 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

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.3% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Yuba City (Wikipedia)

Yuba City is a city in and the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 70,117 at the 2020 census. Yuba City is the principal city of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Sutter County and Yuba County. The metro area's population is 164,138. It is the 21st largest metropolitan area in California, ranked behind Redding and Chico. Its metropolitan statistical area is part of the Greater Sacramento CSA.

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

City facts

MayorDavid Shaw Cite web
Area15.06 sq mi
Elevation59 ft
FoundedJanuary 23, 1908Cite web
Densityauto/sq mi

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 Sutter County right now.

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

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

Neighborhoods of Yuba City

1 tracked · ranked by median home value
1South Yuba City$422,591+1.2%

Cities like Yuba City

Watsonville, CA56 · StableTurlock, CA57 · StableRedding, CA56 · StableCeres, CA62 · Rising

Run the numbers for Yuba City

ToolCan I afford Yuba City?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Yuba City rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Yuba City to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolYuba City 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 Yuba 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 sports teams

Major professional teams the Yuba City 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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