Eureka, California
Area Profile
26,010 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Eureka, in Humboldt County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 14 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.1% and the Opportunity signal places Eureka in the bottom 15%.
In the public schools here, 27% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 19.7 students for every teacher.
Residential permitting has slowed: 90 units authorized over the past twelve months, 39% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 5.1% — higher than in all but 22% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 1.3% over the past year, to 11,504 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsHumboldt County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $53,320 | 12th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftHumboldt County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $51,167 | 8th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$6,1152024 ACS 5-Year | $57,662 | Bottom 35%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$5,3962024 ACS 5-Year | $35,450 | Top 45%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.1% | Bottom 27%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.2 min | Top 10%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.0% | Top 32%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 68.8% | 25th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 11,504 | Bottom 5%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −0.2% | Top 50%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −1.3% | Bottom 37%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 12,122 | 5th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 72.7% | Bottom 33%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.8% | 89th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.3% | Top 36%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 5.1% | Bottom 22%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.5% | 66th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
27% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 19.7 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka Senior High | Eureka City Schools | 1,162 | 19.4 | 27% | 65% |
| Alder Grove Charter School 2 · charter | Alder Grove Charter School 2 District | 481 | 20.0 | 25% | 46% |
| Catherine L. Zane Middle | Eureka City Schools | 417 | 20.9 | 27% | 36% |
| Lafayette Elementary | Eureka City Schools | 324 | 23.1 | 17% | 17% |
| Academy of the Redwoods | Fortuna Union High | 154 | 25.7 | 75% | 85% |
| Pacific View Charter 2.0 · charter | Pacific View Charter 2.0 District | 152 | 15.2 | 17% | 32% |
| Zoe Barnum High | Eureka City Schools | 67 | 11.2 | 10% | 10% |
| Humboldt County ROP | Humboldt County ROP | 0 | — | — | — |
59.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of California is up 19% over five years, and up 0.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,712 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.67% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,550, some 30% above the $1,195 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,550 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $62,000 a year, about 108% of the median household income here of $57,662.
The typical renter household here spends 37% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,195 a month.
A median home at $404,500 costs 4.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,452, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
The figures above are measured against Eureka’s median household income of $57,662, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2 | +0.3% | 10th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2 | +18.9% | 4th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2 | +65.8% | 9th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.82024 ACS 5-Year | 4.9 | Bottom 9%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 47.8% | 8th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±5122024 ACS 5-Year | 11,628 | 95th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,186 | Top 36%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,156 | Top 49%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,550 | Top 43%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$732024 ACS 5-Year | $1,195 | Bottom 32%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$19,0372024 ACS 5-Year | $404,500 | 83rd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$2402024 ACS 5-Year | $2,712 | 69th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$12,2962024 ACS 5-Year | $82,452 | Top 45%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.67% | 26th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 36.6% | Bottom 16%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±2092024 ACS 5-Year | 395 | 96th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.4% | 76th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.2% | 51st percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3482024 ACS 5-Year | 1,236 | 96th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has fallen 4% since 2020, to 25,412 in 2024.
Federal tax returns show Humboldt County, which contains Eureka, lost about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $53,320, close to the $51,167 of households that moved out.
At 3.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Los Angeles County, CA 222 people · 6.1% of arrivals
- Sacramento County, CA 161 people · 4.4% of arrivals
- San Diego County, CA 141 people · 3.9% of arrivals
- Sonoma County, CA 133 people · 3.6% of arrivals
- Shasta County, CA 132 people · 3.6% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Shasta County, CA 207 people · 4.7% of departures
- Los Angeles County, CA 171 people · 3.9% of departures
- Sacramento County, CA 158 people · 3.6% of departures
- San Diego County, CA 125 people · 2.8% of departures
- Butte County, CA 103 people · 2.3% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Humboldt County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 63°F and January a low of 41°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 40.4 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 58 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 40.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 0.0" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 41°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 63°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 4 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 0 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 38 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 11°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and tsunami, with earthquake alone responsible for 50% of it. Tsunami is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: tsunami, drought, lightning, hail, winter weather, tornado, strong wind, volcanic activity, cold wave, ice storm, hurricane.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Eureka's police department reported 835 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,282.
Humboldt County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 20.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 47.0 per 100,000 residents in Humboldt County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Eureka’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Eureka (Humboldt County) rather than Eureka itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 128 miles away.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 91.5% | Top 42%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 128 mi | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 0 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.2% | Top 43%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue Valley Intl/Medford | MFR | 128 mi | 8,800 ft |
| Sacramento Intl | SMF | 199 mi | 8,605 ft |
| Mc Clellan Airfield | MCC | 207 mi | 10,599 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
Customize your score
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Other cities in Eureka-Arcata, CA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcata | Humboldt County | 18,607 | 39 | Arcata vs Eureka |
| McKinleyville | Humboldt County | 17,113 | 40 | McKinleyville vs Eureka |
| Fortuna | Humboldt County | 12,326 | 38 | Fortuna vs Eureka |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Eureka side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Eureka from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Eureka
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Eureka with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Eureka closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95501 | 22,890 | $54,137 | $412,300 | — |