AreaProfile

Fresno, CA

Metro Area Profile

1,177,665 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Fresno, CA metropolitan area.

48
Area Score
Bottom 2% of 99 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity86th of 99 published metros42
Growth71st of 99 published metros39
Housing affordability77th of 99 published metros66
Climate51st of 99 published metros70
Physical resilience95th of 99 published metros10
Access62nd of 99 published metros90
Economic stability84th of 99 published metros48
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 7.7% and the Opportunity signal places Fresno in the bottom 13%.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by drought, inland flooding and earthquake.

A major airport is 8 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
1,177,665
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$74,468
Top 28% nationally
Density
145/sq mi
8095.3 sq mi of land
Median age
33.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Fresno, CA
Nearest major airport
FAT
8 mi · Fresno Yosemite Intl
Median home value
$389,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 7.7% is lower than 1% of the 99 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.5% over the past year, to 501,854 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,250$74,468Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$491$32,569Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate18.4%Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.4 minTop 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher23.4%Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment501,854Bottom 48%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.0%Top 43%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.5%Top 38%June 2026
Labor force543,603Bottom 49%June 2026
Labor force participation61.0%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$63,820Bottom 40%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,910Bottom 22%2025 OEWS
Metro employment476,890Bottom 48%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.6%Bottom 5%June 2026
Unemployment rate7.7%Top 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/06105.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 7.7% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Fresno, CA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides33,580$34,320
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse28,570$34,610
Fast Food and Counter Workers12,330$39,480
Registered Nurses11,030$125,420
Cashiers9,780$35,270
Retail Salespersons9,290$36,460

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 $1,392 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.2 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
22.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,392
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$389,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.23Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate57.0%Bottom 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±168395,909Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$15$1,392Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,115$389,400Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income22.4%Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.5%Bottom 13%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 →
Development Momentum
39/ 100
Ranks 71 of 99 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

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 2% since 2020, reaching 1,189,557 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 14% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
3,391
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.9
Bottom 30% nationally
Year over year
−7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
14.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
202020212022202320241190k1166k
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.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 98°F and January a low of 41°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 11.0 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FRESNO YOSEMITE INTL AP, 7.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation11.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high98°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing36°F1991-2020 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

10 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are drought, inland flooding and earthquake.

DroughtHigh
EarthquakeHigh
WildfireElevated
Inland floodingModerate
Heat waveModerate
Volcanic activityModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, hail, lightning, tornado, winter weather, strong wind.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. 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

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 8 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Fresno Yosemite IntlFAT8 mi9,539 ft
Meadows FldBFL106 mi10,849 ft
Stockton MetroSCK111 mi10,245 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (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.

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