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Place dossier plate
SheetCA-BERKELEY-CA · Berkeley, CA 120,223 pop · income 82nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Berkeley
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Berkeley on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hartford · lowest
45,300
Hartford · lowest
45,300 median HH income
41.5% of the leader · rank #1
Westphalia · near
108,542
Westphalia · near
108,542 median HH income
99.4% of the leader · rank #2
Indian Rocks · near
108,549
Indian Rocks · near
108,549 median HH income
99.4% of the leader · rank #3
Berkeley · this city
108,558
Berkeley · this city
108,558 median HH income
99.4% of the leader · rank #4
Yarmouth Port · near
108,563
Yarmouth Port · near
108,563 median HH income
99.4% of the leader · rank #5
Westcreek · near
108,571
Westcreek · near
108,571 median HH income
99.4% of the leader · rank #6
Concord · highest
109,195
Concord · highest
109,195 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Berkeley on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 120,223.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Berkeley - the verdict
Nationally, Berkeley sits in the 82nd percentile for household income and the 2nd percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
82nd
percentile, household income
99th
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
2nd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Berkeley, CA
California's Berkeley is a mid-sized U.S. city, with 120,223 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Berkeley households earn a median of $108,558 annually, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 3.4%. Typical homes in Berkeley are valued around $1,351,100, and the median resident age is 32.9 years. About 75.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 57.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 307 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Growing), up 15% from five years earlier. Berkeley's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 5868.0 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 58.5°F with 26.1 inches of precipitation per year.
California carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, California scores 110.7 (Well Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,053 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts California's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). The average commute for Berkeley workers runs 20.2 minutes, with 27.4% driving alone and 32.5% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 88.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Berkeley's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Berkeley, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Berkeley?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 5868.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 157% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
How far does income reach against housing in Berkeley?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 12.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Which cities make useful reference points for Berkeley?
Within California, the closest population matches are Fairfield (119,985 residents, $102,321 income); Clovis (122,719 residents, $100,360 income); Concord (124,260 residents, $109,195 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hartford, CT (119,970 residents); West Palm Beach, FL (119,508 residents); Ann Arbor, MI (121,179 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
The NCES join finds 17 public schools within the city match. 75.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Berkeley?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Working from home is the largest reported mode at 32.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 20.2 minutes.
Public transit
15.8%
Work from home
32.5%
Drive alone
27.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 60,420 workers age 16+.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 58.5°F, with 26.1 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for California is 88.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
58.5°F
Annual precipitation
26.1 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
88.7
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Is Berkeley growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -2,231 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 307 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-1.8%
2025 estimate
121,911
2020 estimate
124,142
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
C-
City profile score · Berkeley, CA
53/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A+
75.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income A-
$108,558
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate B+
3.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
639 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
110.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Berkeley profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 100/100 (A+) · 75.1%
Household income: 81/100 (A-) · $108,558
Poverty rate: 76/100 (B+) · 3.4%
Violent crime: 8/100 (F) · 639 /100k
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Berkeley sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Berkeley's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Berkeley highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Berkeley, CA (this city): home $1,351,100, crime 5,868/100k
Hartford, CT : home $217,200, crime 3,361/100k
West Palm Beach, FL : home $369,800, crime 2,714/100k
Ann Arbor, MI : home $435,100, crime 2,018/100k
Lafayette, LA : home $251,300, crime 5,414/100k
Rochester, MN : home $287,500, crime 1,523/100k
Fairfield, CA : home $592,500, crime 2,184/100k
Clovis, CA : home $453,300, crime 1,911/100k
Concord, CA : home $755,900, crime 3,371/100k
Vallejo, CA : home $557,500, crime 4,730/100k
Antioch, CA : home $607,400, crime 3,800/100k
Richmond, CA : home $650,100, crime 3,686/100k
How does Berkeley compare to other US cities?
Where Berkeley sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income82% higher than other cities
Home value99% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety2% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at California, Berkeley ranks #430 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Berkeley against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
California-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Berkeley near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Berkeley ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Berkeley only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#419 of 1,338
69th percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#126 of 1,343
91st percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#997 of 1,450
30th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#59 of 1,458
96th percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
82nd percentile nationally for median household income · 2nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Berkeley's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Berkeley's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Berkeley's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$1,351,1001st percentilemore affordable than 1% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Berkeley's home-value-to-income ratio: 12.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,465 of 15,516
More affordable than 0% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#747 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 12.4×, Berkeley sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,465 of 15,516 and #747 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$108,558Berkeley, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Berkeley, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Berkeley, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)75.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
120,223
Median Income
$108,558
Median Home Value
$1,351,100
Median Age
32.9
Poverty Rate
3.4%
Labor force participation
57.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
75.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
5868.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
638.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
5229.1
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
58.5°F
Annual Precipitation
26.1"
Annual Snowfall
0.0"
Schools
Total Schools
17
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Berkeley's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
124,142 residents
2021
115,433 residents
2022
119,217 residents
2023
119,717 residents
2024
120,665 residents
2025
121,911 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Growing
Total Permits (2024)
307
housing units authorized
Single-Family
98
detached homes
Multifamily
209
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
266
80
186
$59.8M
2020
339
82
257
$60.6M
2021
316
88
228
$56.6M
2022
795
79
716
$115.9M
2023
433
89
344
$91.7M
2024
307
98
209
$61.8M
Permit volume increased 15% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
20.2 minutes
Drive Alone
27.4%
Carpool
3.8%
Public Transit
15.8%
Walk
13.5%
Work from Home
32.5%
Other
7.0%
Based on 60,420 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).
These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Berkeley. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Berkeley is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Berkeley sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Berkeley compares to similar-size California cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.