Oakdale, California

Area Profile

23,194 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Oakdale, in Stanislaus County.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 14% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,614th of 4,199 cities measured38
Schools2,707th of 4,162 cities measured38
GrowthTop 25% of 4,224 cities measured63
Housing affordability3,560th of 4,218 cities measured45
ClimateTop 25% of 4,225 cities measured77
Physical resilience3,522nd of 4,226 cities measured22
Access2,267th of 4,226 cities measured91
Economic stability2,480th of 4,226 cities measured53
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 7.0% and the Opportunity signal places Oakdale in the bottom 14%. The unemployment rate is published for Stanislaus County, CA, which contains Oakdale, rather than for Oakdale alone.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 22.1 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 36% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 4.5 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three.

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
23,194
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$83,091
Top 30% nationally
Density
3,726/sq mi
6.2 sq mi of land
Median age
35.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Metro area
Nearest major airport
SCK
23 mi · Stockton Metro
Median home value
$457,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Stanislaus County, CA, which contains Oakdale, is 7.0% — higher than in all but 4% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Stanislaus County, CA, which contains Oakdale, fell 1.4% over the past year, to 234,540 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsStanislaus County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$60,66329th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftStanislaus County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$62,22027th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$13,2522024 ACS 5-Year$83,091Top 30%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,2892024 ACS 5-Year$36,315Top 42%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year14.3%Bottom 37%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year33.6 minBottom 20%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year22.2%Top 46%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.4%54th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentStanislaus County, CA’s figureJuly 2026234,540Top 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Stanislaus County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Bottom 48%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Stanislaus County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−1.4%Bottom 36%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceStanislaus County, CA’s figureJuly 2026252,10470th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.2%Top 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageModesto, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,230Bottom 45%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageModesto, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,610Bottom 46%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Stanislaus County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateStanislaus County, CA’s figureJuly 20267.0%Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%55th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202486k72k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $83,091 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 — Modesto, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides9,160$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers6,700$42,630
Retail Salespersons5,140$37,430
Cashiers4,890$36,490
Registered Nurses4,850$132,590
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand4,810$46,630

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

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 22.1 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
22.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
38.4%
Bottom 47% in California
Reading proficiency
51.9%
Bottom 45% in California
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Oakdale HighOakdale Joint Unified1,56321.734%64%
Fair Oaks ElementaryOakdale Joint Unified78523.151%58%
Oakdale Junior HighOakdale Joint Unified78022.333%42%
Sierra View ElementaryOakdale Joint Unified66522.954%63%
Magnolia ElementaryOakdale Joint Unified63623.640%48%
Mesa Verde ElementaryRiverbank Unified52924.027%28%
Cloverland ElementaryOakdale Joint Unified48820.336%48%
Valley Home ElementaryValley Home Joint Elementary19121.232%32%
Knights Ferry ElementaryKnights Ferry Elementary10615.152%52%
East Stanislaus HighOakdale Joint Unified8316.610%10%
Oakdale Charter · charterOakdale Joint Unified5628.025%65%

43.6% 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 5% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 105.1, 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 Modesto, CA Metro Area is up 26% over five years, and up 2.8% 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 $3,626 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.79% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,760, some 13% above the $1,559 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,760 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $70,400 a year, about 85% of the median household income here of $83,091.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,559 a month.

A median home at $457,900 costs 4.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $102,625, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
105.1

Prices here run about 5% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Modesto, 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
36.0%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,760
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,559
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$457,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Oakdale’s median household income of $83,091, 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 Modesto, CA Metro Area’s figure2023105.1Bottom 33%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Modesto, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.8%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Modesto, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+25.8%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Modesto, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+88.8%44th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year4.5Bottom 12%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year62.6%24th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3672024 ACS 5-Year8,54093rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,360Top 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,440Bottom 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,760Bottom 43%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1452024 ACS 5-Year$1,559Bottom 18%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,4242024 ACS 5-Year$457,90086th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4182024 ACS 5-Year$3,62680th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,2612024 ACS 5-Year$102,625Top 25%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year0.79%37th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±11%2024 ACS 5-Year36.0%Bottom 18%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year1367th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.0%26th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1592024 ACS 5-Year26882nd 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

63/ 100
Top 25% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 23,209 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 20 units authorized in 2025, 78% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 92 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Stanislaus County, which contains Oakdale, lost about 0.2% 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 $60,663, close to the $62,220 of households that moved out.

At 4.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
92
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.0
Top 36% nationally
Year over year
+207%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202423k23k
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, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
17%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$60,663
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$62,220
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. San Joaquin County, CA 3,474 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Merced County, CA 2,215 people · 14% of arrivals
  3. Santa Clara County, CA 1,563 people · 9.6% of arrivals
  4. Alameda County, CA 1,436 people · 8.8% of arrivals
  5. Sacramento County, CA 515 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. San Joaquin County, CA 2,933 people · 17% of departures
  2. Merced County, CA 2,030 people · 12% of departures
  3. Alameda County, CA 823 people · 4.7% of departures
  4. Santa Clara County, CA 752 people · 4.3% of departures
  5. Sacramento County, CA 724 people · 4.2% 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 Stanislaus County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420259020
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−9%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 95°F and January a low of 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.3 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 53, in the Moderate band, and about 38 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MODESTO CITY CO AP, 11.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1012024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals12.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals95°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
53
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
101
90th percentile index
Days above 100
38
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

22 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and drought, with inland flooding alone responsible for 36% of it.

DroughtHigh
EarthquakeHigh
Heat waveElevated
Inland floodingModerate
WildfireModerate
AvalancheModerate

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

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
414
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
819
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.

Oakdale's police department reported 414 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 819.

Stanislaus County records 3.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 23.0 per 100,000 residents in Stanislaus County.

Homicide
3.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
23.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
8.3
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Oakdale’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 Oakdale (Stanislaus County) rather than Oakdale 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

8 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Stockton Metro at 23 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year85.2%Bottom 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle23 miBottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle8Top 7%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%Bottom 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Stockton MetroSCK23 mi10,245 ft
Mineta San Jose IntlSJC65 mi11,000 ft
Mc Clellan AirfieldMCC69 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
48
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Other cities in Modesto, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ModestoStanislaus County219,21546Modesto vs Oakdale
TurlockStanislaus County72,50244Turlock vs Oakdale
CeresStanislaus County49,34237Ceres vs Oakdale
RiverbankStanislaus County25,16648
PattersonStanislaus County24,69349
SalidaStanislaus County13,90051
NewmanStanislaus County12,31636

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 Oakdale side by side with a similar place.

Oakdale vs RiverbankOakdale vs Wilton Manors

Moving to Oakdale 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 Oakdale

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Oakdale with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9536134,810$92,963$516,00047