Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetCA-SEASIDE-CA · Seaside, CA 31,964 pop · income 64th 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 Seaside
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Seaside on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pullman · lowest
45,097
Pullman · lowest
45,097 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #1
De Witt · near
82,292
De Witt · near
82,292 median HH income
64.3% of the leader · rank #2
Hallsboro · near
82,292
Hallsboro · near
82,292 median HH income
64.3% of the leader · rank #3
Jourdanton · near
82,302
Jourdanton · near
82,302 median HH income
64.3% of the leader · rank #4
Seaside · this city
82,303
Seaside · this city
82,303 median HH income
64.3% of the leader · rank #5
Greenbrier · near
82,308
Greenbrier · near
82,308 median HH income
64.3% of the leader · rank #6
Beverly Hills · highest
127,979
Beverly Hills · highest
127,979 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 Seaside 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: 31,964.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Seaside - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Seaside places in the 64th percentile for household income and the 51st percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
64th
percentile, household income
93rd
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
51st
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: Seaside, CA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 31,964 residents in Seaside, a small city within California. Households in Seaside report a median income of $82,303 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 11.5%. Home values in Seaside run a median of $692,600, and the median resident age is 33.7 years. Educational attainment runs 27.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 58.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 120 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Active). Seaside reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1345.8 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
California carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts California at 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). 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). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 88.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Seaside'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 work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income to reported crime to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Seaside, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, 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.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Seaside?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 70.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Which cities make useful reference points for Seaside?
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.
Within California, the closest population matches are Beverly Hills (31,955 residents, $127,979 income); Atwater (32,013 residents, $63,945 income); Fair Oaks (32,030 residents, $111,332 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Juneau, AK (31,969 residents); Duluth, GA (31,958 residents); Opelika, AL (31,944 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Seaside?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 8.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Seaside?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1345.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 41% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Seaside?
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.
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 27.5% 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.
Poverty estimate
11.5%
Bachelor's degree+
27.5%
Matched public schools
11
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -692 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 120 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
2020 estimate
32,328
2025 estimate
31,636
Period change
-2.1%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 11.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
110.7 (US=100)
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
F
City profile score · Seaside, CA
35/100
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.
Household income C+
$82,303
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
11.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
513 /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.
Seaside profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 62/100 (C+) · $82,303
Bachelor's+ share: 54/100 (C-) · 27.5%
Poverty rate: 34/100 (F) · 11.5%
Violent crime: 15/100 (F) · 513 /100k
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Seaside sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Seaside'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 - Seaside highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Seaside, CA (this city): home $692,600, crime 1,346/100k
Juneau, AK : home $432,500, crime 2,607/100k
Duluth, GA : home $366,000, crime 1,363/100k
Opelika, AL : home $213,700, crime 3,185/100k
Pullman, WA : home $401,700, crime 952/100k
Beverly Hills, CA : home $2,000,000+, crime 4,951/100k
Atwater, CA : home $340,600, crime 2,904/100k
San Pablo, CA : home $516,000, crime 3,135/100k
How does Seaside compare to other US cities?
Here's how Seaside stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income64% higher than other cities
Home value93% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety51% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just California and the picture shifts: Seaside ranks #116 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Seaside 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 Seaside near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Seaside ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Seaside only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#745 of 1,338
44th percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#453 of 1,343
66th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#421 of 1,450
70th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#673 of 1,458
54th 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
64th percentile nationally for median household income · 51st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Seaside's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Seaside'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 Seaside's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$692,6007th percentilemore affordable than 7% 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
Seaside's home-value-to-income ratio: 8.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,139 of 15,516
More affordable than 2% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,223 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 8.4×, Seaside sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,139 of 15,516 and #3,223 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$82,303Seaside, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Seaside, 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 Seaside, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
31,964
Median Income
$82,303
Median Home Value
$692,600
Median Age
33.7
Poverty Rate
11.5%
Labor force participation
58.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1345.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
513.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
832.7
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.
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Seaside's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
32,328 residents
2021
32,031 residents
2022
31,565 residents
2023
31,446 residents
2024
31,306 residents
2025
31,636 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Active
Total Permits (2024)
120
housing units authorized
Single-Family
11
detached homes
Multifamily
109
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
7
7
0
$2.7M
2024
120
11
109
$29.5M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
70.6%
Carpool
12.9%
Public Transit
1.7%
Walk
3.3%
Work from Home
7.9%
Other
3.6%
Based on 15,703 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 Seaside. 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 Seaside 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 Seaside sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Seaside 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, 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.