Union City, California

Area Profile

67,464 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Union City, in Alameda County.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 32% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,825th of 4,199 cities measured48
SchoolsTop 47% of 4,162 cities measured51
Growth2,669th of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordability3,730th of 4,218 cities measured41
ClimateTop 8% of 4,225 cities measured89
Physical resilience2,988th of 4,226 cities measured37
AccessTop 25% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stabilityTop 29% of 4,226 cities measured68
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.5% and median household income $133,715, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 45% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 24.5 students for every teacher.

Buying strains owner incomes far more than renting strains renter incomes — the median home is 7.0 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 29% 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
67,464
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$133,715
Top 7% nationally
Density
3,478/sq mi
19.4 sq mi of land
Median age
43.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
OAK
14 mi · Oakland San Francisco Bay
Median home value
$1,104,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.5% — higher than in all but 43% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.6% over the past year, to 32,570 employed residents.

45% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $133,715 is higher than in 93% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsAlameda County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$123,03193rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftAlameda County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$130,74696th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,0542024 ACS 5-Year$133,715Top 7%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9312024 ACS 5-Year$57,977Top 11%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%Top 35%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.6 minBottom 17%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year45.1%Top 15%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year60.0%12th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202632,570Bottom 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.9%Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.6%Bottom 12%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202634,12237th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year82.4%Top 34%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$100,220Top 2%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$74,260Top 2%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year3.8%94th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.5%Bottom 43%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year18.6%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.53.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.5% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, 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

2021202220232024138k128k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $133,715 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.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 24.5 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
24.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
45.4%
Top 36% in California
Reading proficiency
58.6%
Top 36% in California
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
James Logan HighNew Haven Unified3,09624.244%74%
Itliong-Vera CruzNew Haven Unified1,09722.945%46%
Cesar Chavez MiddleNew Haven Unified99022.526%34%
Guy Jr. Emanuele ElementaryNew Haven Unified74629.842%44%
Searles ElementaryNew Haven Unified71226.428%41%
Delaine Eastin ElementaryNew Haven Unified66826.767%73%
Alvarado ElementaryNew Haven Unified66726.756%58%
Tom Kitayama ElementaryNew Haven Unified65326.157%57%
Pioneer ElementaryNew Haven Unified62327.153%60%
Connecting Waters Charter - East Bay · charterConnecting Waters Charter - East Bay District54018.055%67%

54.5% 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 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 $8,217 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.74% 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 $2,713 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 87% of the median household income here of $133,715.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,713 a month.

A median home at $1,104,900 costs 7.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $157,500, 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
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
7.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,912
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,713
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$1,104,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Union City’s median household income of $133,715, 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 2%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2−4.8%1st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+8.2%1st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+45.6%2nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year7.0Bottom 3%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year64.7%28th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5002024 ACS 5-Year21,90197th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,385Bottom 8%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,724Bottom 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,912Bottom 7%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$802024 ACS 5-Year$2,713Bottom 2%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$29,2842024 ACS 5-Year$1,104,90099th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2642024 ACS 5-Year$8,21798th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,7692024 ACS 5-Year$157,500Top 5%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.74%33rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%Bottom 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±492024 ACS 5-Year3177th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%26th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1722024 ACS 5-Year66192nd 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

44/ 100
Ranks 2,669 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 fallen 5% since 2020, to 66,196 in 2024.

66% of the 123 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.

Federal tax returns show Alameda County, which contains Union City, lost about 1.3% 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 $123,031, below the $130,746 of households that moved out.

At 1.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
123
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.8
Bottom 39% nationally
Year over year
+95%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
65.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202470k66k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

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.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251425.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+2740%).

Weather & climate

9 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 75°F and January a low of 43°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 16.0 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 49, 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 HAYWARD AIR TERMINAL, 6.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year632024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals16.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals75°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 Normals16°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

37 / 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. 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
453
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,826
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.

Union City's police department reported 453 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,826.

Alameda County records 4.1 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 6.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.6 per 100,000 residents in Alameda County.

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Union City’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 Union City (Alameda County) rather than Union City 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

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Oakland San Francisco Bay at 14 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year95.1%Top 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle14 miTop 39%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%Top 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Oakland San Francisco BayOAK14 mi10,520 ft
Mineta San Jose IntlSJC17 mi11,000 ft
San Francisco IntlSFO20 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.

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Area Score
54
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Other cities in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
San FranciscoSan Francisco County830,23556San Francisco vs Union City
OaklandAlameda County439,41849Oakland vs Union City
FremontAlameda County228,29560Fremont vs Union City
HaywardAlameda County158,80143
ConcordContra Costa County124,03542
BerkeleyAlameda County120,25753
AntiochContra Costa County116,47740
RichmondContra Costa County115,50539
San MateoSan Mateo County103,10554
Daly CitySan Mateo County101,96454
San LeandroAlameda County87,82643
San RamonContra Costa County85,99355

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 Union City side by side with a similar place.

Union City vs Castro ValleyUnion City vs Hercules

Moving to Union City 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 Union City

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Union City 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 Union City 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
9458767,464$133,715$1,104,900—