Newark, California
Area Profile
46,903 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Newark, in Alameda County.
Residential permitting has slowed: 57 units authorized over the past twelve months, 45% below the prior year.
A major airport is 11 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.
Its Area Score of 58 places Newark in the top 66% of published city profiles.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 4.1% is lower than 64% of the 1,567 measured US cities.
Employment fell 1.7% over the past year, to 24,629 employed residents.
48% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 87% of measured US cities.
Household income is higher than at least 97% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$9,066 | $169,064 | Top 3% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,757 | $73,044 | Top 5% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 4.3% | Bottom 21% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 33.1 min | Top 22% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 48.1% | Top 13% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 24,629 | Bottom 49% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | -3.9% | Bottom 5% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | -1.7% | Bottom 26% | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 25,680 | Bottom 49% | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 72.1% | Top 13% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $100,220 | Top 3% | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $74,260 | Top 3% | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | -0.4% | Bottom 21% | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.1% | Bottom 36% | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 119,120 | $35,950 |
| Software Developers | 69,030 | $186,640 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 49,970 | $43,870 |
| General and Operations Managers | 43,520 | $149,990 |
| Registered Nurses | 41,750 | $186,610 |
| Retail Salespersons | 39,460 | $43,850 |
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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated →Median rent of $2,776 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.
A median home costs 6.8 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income | 6.76 | Top 6% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate | 69.4% | Bottom 37% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±474 | 16,015 | Top 4% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$113 | $2,776 | Top 2% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$22,900 | $1,142,800 | Top 2% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income | 19.7% | Top 42% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate | 4.8% | Bottom 28% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →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 3% since 2020, reaching 46,254 in 2024.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.
New construction is predominantly single-family: only 18% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.
At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
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.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 13.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 42°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 77°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 9 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 17°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and wildfire.
Low or minimal exposure: landslide, heat wave, coastal flooding, volcanic activity, tornado, tsunami, lightning, hail, strong wind, avalanche, winter weather.
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.
Taxes
AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.
Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.
Access
6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 11 miles away.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norman Y Mineta San Jose Intl | SJC | 11 mi | 11,000 ft |
| Oakland San Francisco Bay | OAK | 18 mi | 10,520 ft |
| San Francisco Intl | SFO | 20 mi | 11,870 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.
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Other cities in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | San Francisco County | 830,235 | 60 | vs Newark |
| Oakland | Alameda County | 439,418 | 57 | vs Newark |
| Fremont | Alameda County | 228,295 | 62 | vs Newark |
| Hayward | Alameda County | 158,801 | 53 | vs Newark |
| Concord | Contra Costa County | 124,035 | 52 | vs Newark |
| Berkeley | Alameda County | 120,257 | 55 | vs Newark |
| Antioch | Contra Costa County | 116,477 | 50 | vs Newark |
| Richmond | Contra Costa County | 115,505 | 51 | vs Newark |
| San Mateo | San Mateo County | 103,105 | 59 | vs Newark |
| Daly City | San Mateo County | 101,964 | 61 | vs Newark |
| San Leandro | Alameda County | 87,826 | 52 | vs Newark |
| San Ramon | Contra Costa County | 85,993 | 58 | vs Newark |
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 Newark side by side with a similar place.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 | Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (5-year estimates released each December) |
Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.
ZIP codes in Newark
1 published ZIP profiles| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 94560 | 46,903 | $169,064 | 59 |