94538 — Fremont, California

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 94538. Its median home value runs 19% below Fremont as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

58out of 100
Area Score
Top 50% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity1,649th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured52
SchoolsTop 27% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured68
Growth1,851st of 3,124 ZIP areas measured46
Housing affordability2,580th of 3,112 ZIP areas measured49
ClimateTop 6% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured89
Physical resilience2,253rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured36
AccessTop 8% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured99
Economic stabilityTop 15% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured75
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $147,301, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Fremont, CA, which contains 94538, rather than for 94538 alone.

In the public schools here, 61% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 21.0 students for every teacher.

Buying strains owner incomes far more than renting strains renter incomes — the median home is 6.1 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 28% of renter income.

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

Population
67,781
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$147,301
Top 4% nationally
Density
4,098/sq mi
16.5 sq mi of land
Median age
36.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Fremont
California
Nearest major airport
SJC
10 mi · Mineta San Jose Intl
Median home value
$1,136,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Fremont, CA, which contains 94538, is 4.3%, lower than in 54% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Fremont, CA, which contains 94538, fell 2.6% over the past year, to 111,386 employed residents.

55% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $147,301 is higher than in 96% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsAlameda County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$123,03193rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftAlameda County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$130,74697th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,9722024 ACS 5-Year$147,301Top 4%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6222024 ACS 5-Year$63,191Top 9%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%Top 22%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year31.8 minBottom 30%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year54.8%Top 9%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year54.4%9th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentFremont, CA’s figureJuly 2026111,386Top 29%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Fremont, CA’s figureJuly 2026−3.6%Bottom 9%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Fremont, CA’s figureJuly 2026−2.6%Bottom 11%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceFremont, CA’s figureJuly 2026116,42371st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year83.8%Top 25%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$100,220Top 1%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$74,260Top 1%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%93rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Fremont, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateFremont, CA’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 46%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%94th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024147k131k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $147,301 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides119,120$35,950
Software Developers69,030$186,640
Fast Food and Counter Workers49,970$43,870
General and Operations Managers43,520$149,990
Registered Nurses41,750$186,610
Retail Salespersons39,460$43,850

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Fremont, CA, the city containing this ZIP code.

61% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 69% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.0 students for every full-time teacher across 18 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
20
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.0
across 18 of them
Math proficiency
61.0%
Top 15% in California
Reading proficiency
68.6%
Top 20% in California
The 12 largest of 20 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Irvington HighFremont Unified2,15725.473%75%
John M. Horner MiddleFremont Unified1,57425.079%80%
John F. Kennedy HighFremont Unified1,27320.542%70%
G. M. Walters MiddleFremont Unified1,14920.546%63%
Lila Bringhurst ElementaryFremont Unified1,08325.8——
J. Haley Durham ElementaryFremont Unified71926.672%75%
Brier ElementaryFremont Unified58526.652%63%
John Blacow ElementaryFremont Unified55723.242%43%
Steven Millard ElementaryFremont Unified45522.869%71%
O. N. Hirsch ElementaryFremont Unified44124.575%75%
Circle of Independent Learning · charterFremont Unified39424.657%62%
Joseph Azevada ElementaryFremont Unified39423.276%80%

38.1% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 18% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 117.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division is up 8.2% over five years, but down 4.8% 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 $7,775 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.68% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,912, close to the $2,860 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,912 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $116,500 a year, about 79% of the median household income here of $147,301.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,860 a month.

A median home at $1,136,600 costs 6.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $185,962, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
117.6

Prices here run about 18% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,912
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,860
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$1,136,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 94538’s median household income of $147,301, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2023117.6Bottom 1%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2−4.8%1st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+8.2%1st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+45.6%2nd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year6.1Bottom 5%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year44.7%7th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6922024 ACS 5-Year24,85499th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,385Bottom 7%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,724Bottom 6%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,912Bottom 6%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$632024 ACS 5-Year$2,860Bottom 1%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$21,1272024 ACS 5-Year$1,136,60099th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4512024 ACS 5-Year$7,77597th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,5572024 ACS 5-Year$185,962Top 2%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.68%31st percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year27.9%Top 48%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1302024 ACS 5-Year17283rd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%45th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%31st percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2912024 ACS 5-Year1,22691st percentileof 33,7722024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 1,851 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

89% of the 708 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Fremont, CA, which contains 94538, rather than for 94538 alone.

At 3.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Fremont, CA, which contains 94538, rather than for 94538 alone.

Units permitted
708
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.1
Top 49% nationally
Year over year
+714%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
88.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
27%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$123,031
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$130,746
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Santa Clara County, CA 11,226 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Contra Costa County, CA 7,605 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. San Francisco County, CA 5,527 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  4. San Mateo County, CA 4,032 people · 6.6% of arrivals
  5. San Joaquin County, CA 2,692 people · 4.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Contra Costa County, CA 12,831 people · 16% of departures
  2. Santa Clara County, CA 7,373 people · 9.4% of departures
  3. San Joaquin County, CA 6,832 people · 8.7% of departures
  4. San Francisco County, CA 4,335 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. San Mateo County, CA 3,205 people · 4.1% 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 Alameda County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Fremont, CA, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

9 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 77°F and January a low of 42°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 13.4 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD, 8.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year632024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals13.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals77°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals91991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals17°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
49
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
63
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

36 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave, with earthquake alone responsible for 72% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingElevated
WildfireModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, heat wave, coastal flooding, volcanic activity, tornado, tsunami, lightning, hail, strong wind, avalanche, winter weather, 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
4.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
8.9
per 100,000 residents

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.

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 94538 (Alameda County) rather than 94538 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Fremont carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mineta San Jose Intl at 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year96.3%Top 14%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 25%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%Top 16%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mineta San Jose IntlSJC10 mi11,000 ft
Oakland San Francisco BayOAK21 mi10,520 ft
San Francisco IntlSFO24 mi11,870 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

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
58
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.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
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

94538 vs Fremont

How this ZIP area compares with Fremont as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

94538
Fremont
Median household income: Fremont is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$147,301
vs
$181,506
Per capita income: Fremont is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$63,191
vs
$77,049
Population density
4,098/sq mi
vs
2,923/sq mi
Median home value
$1,136,600
vs
$1,403,800
Median gross rent: 94538 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$2,860
vs
$2,933
Homeownership rate
44.7%
vs
60.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Fremont is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
54.8%
vs
63.9%
Poverty rate: Fremont is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
5.3%
vs
5.0%
Median age
36.7
vs
39.1

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.