McKinleyville, California

Area Profile

17,113 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for McKinleyville, in Humboldt County.

40out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity3,184th of 4,199 cities measured44
Schools2,940th of 4,162 cities measured34
Growth2,493rd of 4,224 cities measured46
Housing affordability3,987th of 4,218 cities measured34
Climate2,184th of 4,225 cities measured70
Physical resilience3,367th of 4,226 cities measured25
Access4,203rd of 4,226 cities measured2
Economic stability3,028th of 4,226 cities measured45
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places McKinleyville in the bottom 24%. The unemployment rate is published for Humboldt County, CA, which contains McKinleyville, rather than for McKinleyville alone.

In the public schools here, 33% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 19.5 students for every teacher.

278 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Humboldt County, CA, which contains McKinleyville, rather than for McKinleyville alone.

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
17,113
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,327
Top 41% nationally
Density
820/sq mi
20.9 sq mi of land
Median age
41.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
MFR
116 mi · Rogue Valley Intl/Medford
Median home value
$457,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Humboldt County, CA, which contains McKinleyville, is 5.3% — higher than in all but 17% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Humboldt County, CA, which contains McKinleyville, fell 1.3% over the past year, to 55,345 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 80% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHumboldt County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$53,32012th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHumboldt County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,1678th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,0262024 ACS 5-Year$73,327Top 41%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,9732024 ACS 5-Year$36,859Top 41%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year13.8%Bottom 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.5 minTop 23%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year38.3%Top 20%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHumboldt County, CA’s figureJuly 202655,345Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Humboldt County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Top 47%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Humboldt County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−1.3%Bottom 37%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceHumboldt County, CA’s figureJuly 202658,45549th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year77.2%Bottom 46%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Humboldt County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateHumboldt County, CA’s figureJuly 20265.3%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.9%60th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $73,327 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Humboldt County, CA, which contains this city.

33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 19.5 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
33.2%
Bottom 33% in California
Reading proficiency
51.2%
Bottom 43% in California
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
McKinleyville HighNorthern Humboldt Union High56617.232%62%
McKinleyville MiddleMcKinleyville Union Elementary30218.927%40%
Dow's Prairie ElementaryMcKinleyville Union Elementary28321.8——
Morris ElementaryMcKinleyville Union Elementary25528.341%43%
Fieldbrook ElementaryFieldbrook Elementary9018.047%57%
Mad River High (Continuation)Northern Humboldt Union High2814.010%10%

52.8% 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.

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 $2,812 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.61% 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, close to the $1,607 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 85% of the median household income here of $73,327.

The typical renter household here spends 38% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,607 a month.

A median home at $457,600 costs 5.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $87,193, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
37.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,550
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,607
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$457,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against McKinleyville’s median household income of $73,327, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+0.3%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+18.9%4th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+65.8%9th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year5.2Bottom 7%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year62.9%25th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4672024 ACS 5-Year7,34692nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,186Top 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,156Top 49%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,550Top 43%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1772024 ACS 5-Year$1,607Bottom 17%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,6052024 ACS 5-Year$457,60086th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2892024 ACS 5-Year$2,81270th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,1032024 ACS 5-Year$87,193Top 39%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.61%21st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year37.9%Bottom 14%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1402024 ACS 5-Year22794th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%75th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%45th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2312024 ACS 5-Year67692nd 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.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 2,493 of 4,224 published city 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.

Federal tax returns show Humboldt County, which contains McKinleyville, 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 2.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Humboldt County, CA, which contains McKinleyville, rather than for McKinleyville alone.

Units permitted
278
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.1
Bottom 43% nationally
Year over year
+5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
35%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,320
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$51,167
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Los Angeles County, CA 222 people · 6.1% of arrivals
  2. Sacramento County, CA 161 people · 4.4% of arrivals
  3. San Diego County, CA 141 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  4. Sonoma County, CA 133 people · 3.6% of arrivals
  5. Shasta County, CA 132 people · 3.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Shasta County, CA 207 people · 4.7% of departures
  2. Los Angeles County, CA 171 people · 3.9% of departures
  3. Sacramento County, CA 158 people · 3.6% of departures
  4. San Diego County, CA 125 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. 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.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and McKinleyville, CA is not one. This is the figure for Humboldt County, CA, which contains this city.

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 46.1 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

30°50°70°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ARCATA EUREKA AP, 2.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND8.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals46.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals63°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals10°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
38
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
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

25 / 100
Physical resilience

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.

LandslideModerate
EarthquakeHigh
WildfireModerate
Inland floodingHigh
Coastal floodingModerate
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate

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.

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

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.

Homicide
4.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
20.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
47.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
29.1
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 McKinleyville (Humboldt County) rather than McKinleyville 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. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 116 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year93.2%Top 33%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle116 miBottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%Top 34%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rogue Valley Intl/MedfordMFR116 mi8,800 ft
Sacramento IntlSMF204 mi8,605 ft
Mc Clellan AirfieldMCC212 mi10,599 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.

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Area Score
40
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Other cities in Eureka-Arcata, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
EurekaHumboldt County26,01037Eureka vs McKinleyville
ArcataHumboldt County18,60739Arcata vs McKinleyville
FortunaHumboldt County12,32638Fortuna vs McKinleyville

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 McKinleyville side by side with a similar place.

McKinleyville vs Shasta LakeMcKinleyville vs Eureka

Moving to McKinleyville 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
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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
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 McKinleyville

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in McKinleyville 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 McKinleyville 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
9551918,728$73,280$469,400—