Hollister, California

Area Profile

43,811 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hollister, in San Benito County.

49out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 18% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,325th of 4,199 cities measured42
Schools2,621st of 4,162 cities measured40
GrowthTop 33% of 4,224 cities measured58
Housing affordability3,614th of 4,218 cities measured44
ClimateTop 8% of 4,225 cities measured89
Physical resilience3,649th of 4,226 cities measured20
Access3,509th of 4,226 cities measured76
Economic stabilityTop 35% of 4,226 cities measured65
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 6.2% and the Opportunity signal places Hollister in the bottom 21%.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 23.6 students for every teacher.

136 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
43,811
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$111,834
Top 13% nationally
Density
5,503/sq mi
8 sq mi of land
Median age
34.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
SJC
46 mi · Mineta San Jose Intl
Median home value
$717,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.2% — higher than in all but 6% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.0% over the past year, to 20,513 employed residents.

Median household income of $111,834 is higher than in 87% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSan Benito County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$81,53163rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSan Benito County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$77,30359th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,7992024 ACS 5-Year$111,834Top 13%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0632024 ACS 5-Year$39,015Top 35%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%Top 39%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year39.2 minBottom 9%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.1%Bottom 46%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.1%40th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202620,513Bottom 24%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.5%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202621,86124th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.2%Top 39%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$119,230Top 1%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$84,050Top 1%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Top 15%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.2%Bottom 6%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%56th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.94.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024112k88k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $111,834 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Software Developers87,350$213,110
Home Health and Personal Care Aides49,610$37,640
Fast Food and Counter Workers23,060$44,570
Registered Nurses22,930$216,740
Computer and Information Systems Managers19,070$291,660
Retail Salespersons18,340$44,220

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.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 23.6 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
23.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
37.9%
Bottom 46% in California
Reading proficiency
54.9%
Top 46% in California
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Hollister HighSan Benito High3,31623.231%59%
Hollister Dual Language AcademyHollister85823.849%59%
Ladd Lane ElementaryHollister76723.236%53%
Spring Grove ElementaryNorth County Joint Union Elementary76222.450%66%
Rancho SantanaHollister67827.1——
Rancho San JustoHollister65321.131%46%
Sunnyslope ElementaryHollister60222.337%42%
Cerra Vista ElementaryHollister60226.242%48%
Maze MiddleHollister58020.720%42%
Calaveras ElementaryHollister55625.337%37%
Hollister Prep · charterHollister Prep District53828.372%87%
R. O. Hardin ElementaryHollister46123.119%30%

60.5% 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 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 113.1, 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area is up 27% over five years, but down 1.0% 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 $5,833 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.81% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,830, some 48% above the $1,914 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,830 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $113,200 a year, about 101% of the median household income here of $111,834.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,914 a month.

A median home at $717,500 costs 5.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $131,802, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
113.1

Prices here run about 13% 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, 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
31.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,830
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,914
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$717,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Hollister’s median household income of $111,834, 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area’s figure2023113.1Bottom 7%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−1.0%2nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+27.4%12th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+52.2%3rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year5.4Bottom 7%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year65.4%29th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2692024 ACS 5-Year12,92195th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,190Bottom 14%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,840Bottom 5%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,830Bottom 8%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$922024 ACS 5-Year$1,914Bottom 9%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$24,5462024 ACS 5-Year$717,50095th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3182024 ACS 5-Year$5,83393rd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,0272024 ACS 5-Year$131,802Top 11%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.81%39th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.7%Bottom 33%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±552024 ACS 5-Year3980th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%22nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1572024 ACS 5-Year32885th percentileof 32,3302024 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

58/ 100
Top 33% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 grown 8% since 2020, reaching 45,033 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 154 units authorized in 2025, up 31% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 45,033 residents in 2024, up 0.9% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 136 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show San Benito County, which contains Hollister, gained about 0.4% 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 $81,531, above the $77,303 of households that moved out.

At 3.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
136
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.1
Top 43% nationally
Year over year
+5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202445k42k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
8%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$81,531
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$77,303
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Santa Clara County, CA 1,483 people · 47% of arrivals
  2. Monterey County, CA 457 people · 14% of arrivals
  3. Santa Cruz County, CA 267 people · 8.4% of arrivals
  4. Merced County, CA 121 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  5. Alameda County, CA 65 people · 2.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Santa Clara County, CA 905 people · 31% of departures
  2. Merced County, CA 274 people · 9.3% of departures
  3. Monterey County, CA 242 people · 8.2% of departures
  4. Santa Cruz County, CA 124 people · 4.2% of departures
  5. Fresno County, CA 60 people · 2.0% 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 San Benito County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025396118
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−52%).

Weather & climate

9 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 71°F and January a low of 42°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SALINAS MUNICIPAL AP, 17.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals12.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals71°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals91991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
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

20 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and wildfire, with earthquake alone responsible for 61% of it.

EarthquakeHigh
DroughtElevated
WildfireElevated
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, coastal flooding, tornado, lightning, hail, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, hurricane, ice storm.

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.

Violent crime
281
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
506
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Hollister's police department reported 281 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 506.

San Benito County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.2 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 about 6.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.1 per 100,000 residents in San Benito County.

Homicide
3.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
16.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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 Hollister’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 Hollister (San Benito County) rather than Hollister 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.

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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mineta San Jose Intl at 46 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year96.7%Top 17%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle46 miBottom 15%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year3.0%Top 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mineta San Jose IntlSJC46 mi11,000 ft
Stockton MetroSCK72 mi10,245 ft
Oakland San Francisco BayOAK75 mi10,520 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.

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Area Score
49
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—

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Other cities in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
San JoseSanta Clara County990,13858San Jose vs Hollister
SunnyvaleSanta Clara County154,23659Sunnyvale vs Hollister
Santa ClaraSanta Clara County130,25662Santa Clara vs Hollister
Mountain ViewSanta Clara County83,73267
MilpitasSanta Clara County78,57857
Palo AltoSanta Clara County67,23765
GilroySanta Clara County59,00453
CupertinoSanta Clara County58,56662
Morgan HillSanta Clara County45,42558
CampbellSanta Clara County42,78158
Los GatosSanta Clara County32,78659
Los AltosSanta Clara County30,698—

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.

Compare

Put Hollister side by side with a similar place.

Hollister vs Rohnert ParkHollister vs University of California-Santa Barbara

Moving to Hollister from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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.

ZIP codes in Hollister

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Hollister 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 Hollister 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.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9502359,889$116,314$784,100—