City profile · California · Census ACS 2023

Westlake, CA

Westlake's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

7,829
Residents
$174,069
Median income
$1,212,800
Median home
$2,053
Median rent (state)
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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.

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Starting with Westlake, CA - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Westlake.

Place dossier plate

Sheet CA-WESTLAKE-CA · Westlake, CA 7,829 pop · income 97th pct

POP-TOWN · INC-TOP · COL-ABOVE · SAFE-UNK · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-TOP · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-TOWN 7,829
  • INC-TOP $174,069
  • COL-ABOVE 110.7
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-TOP 97th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Woodmoor
  • HOME-TOP $1,212,800
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Woodmoor, CO (+ $69 income $)

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 Westlake

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Westlake on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

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.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Westlake on ACS population and median household income . 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: 7,829.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $174,069. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Westlake - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Westlake lands in the 97th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

97th
percentile, household income
98th
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Westlake, CA

California's Westlake is a small town, with 7,829 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Westlake households earn a median of $174,069 annually, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 5.7%. Westlake's housing stock carries a median value of $1,212,800, and the median resident age is 49.9 years. About 66.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 54.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier.

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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $2,053 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts California's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 out of 100 (Very High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Westlake'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 housing and income to population change to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Westlake, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Westlake?

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 7.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 2

Is Westlake growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -493 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -6.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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.

See the national growth ranking →

Question 3

What does the journey to work look like in Westlake?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 62.9%. 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. 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.

Compare commute patterns →

4. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Westlake?

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.

Within California, the closest population matches are Yreka (7,832 residents, $42,664 income); Magalia (7,784 residents, $60,625 income); Acton (7,721 residents, $110,000 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Princeton, IL (7,829 residents); Glen Ridge, NJ (7,827 residents); Round Lake Park, IL (7,833 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Population

7,829 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$174,069 /yr

Top-decile income · poverty 5.7% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

110.7 (US=100)

Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average

City profile score · Westlake, CA

66/100

4 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 A+
$174,069

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Bachelor's+ share A+
66.4%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Poverty rate C+
5.7%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better 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.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Westlake profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Household income, Bachelor's+ share, Poverty rate, Cost of living. Household incomeBachelor's+ sharePoverty rateCost of living 66 B-
Westlake profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Household income: 100/100 (A+) · $174,069
  • Bachelor's+ share: 95/100 (A+) · 66.4%
  • Poverty rate: 61/100 (C+) · 5.7%
  • Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index

How does Westlake compare to other US cities?

Westlake measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 97% higher than other cities
Home value 98% pricier than other cities
Median rent 88% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Westlake 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 Westlake near the bottom of California's cities

Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Westlake ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Westlake only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#110 of 1,338
92nd percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#146 of 1,343
89th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#782 of 1,450
46th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#130 of 1,458
91st 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.

97thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

97th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Westlake's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$1,212,800 2nd percentile more affordable than 2% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). This entry sits in this band. Westlake $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

Westlake's home-value-to-income ratio: 7.0×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,658 of 15,516
More affordable than 6% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,798 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 7.0×, Westlake sits in the pressured band: national rank #14,658 of 15,516 and #10,798 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). 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

$174,069 Westlake, CA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Westlake, CA Westlake, CA's median household income ($174,069) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Westlake, CA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Westlake, CA median $174,069/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Westlake, 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 Westlake, CA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 66.4%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 5.7%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 54.0%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
7,829
Median Income
$174,069
Median Home Value
$1,212,800
Median Age
49.9
Poverty Rate
5.7%
Labor force participation
54.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
66.4%

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
7,400 residents7,600 residents7,800 residents8,000 residents8,200 residents 202020212022202320242025 7,998 residents 7,505 residents ▼ -6.2%
Westlake's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 7,998 residents
2021 7,829 residents
2022 7,710 residents
2023 7,631 residents
2024 7,583 residents
2025 7,505 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 1
2020 0
2021 1
2022 0
2023 1
2024 0

Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
62.9%
Carpool
2.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.0%
Work from Home
31.0%
Other
1.6%

Based on 3,369 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 Westlake. 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 Westlake 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 Westlake sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Westlake 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Westlake (this city) 7,829 $174,069
Yreka 7,832 $42,664
Magalia 7,784 $60,625
Acton 7,721 $110,000
Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, 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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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