Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Alameda's standout: it is among the most walkable places in the country. Overall it grades B−, 221st of 841 graded towns in California. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 93% of the country and its schools rank ahead of 87% of California towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Alameda’s property crime rate is 35.3 per 1,000 residents, above both the California town median (13.3) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). On safety, just 27 of California’s 426 towns do worse. Alameda has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Naval Air Station Alameda Historic District and Alameda High School.
Where Alameda beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jimmy Doolittle
Census counts: 460 in 1860, 78,280 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1879 and 8 maps from 1897 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Alameda is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 2%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Alameda. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw11 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaOracle Park
Big draw10 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw12 mi GardenPresidio of San FranciscoUSS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alameda, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Alameda.
Alameda has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, trades workers with San Francisco and other neighbors and has less no health insurance than most of California.
Reported crimes fell from 4,513 to 3,064 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Alameda is 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; San Francisco (B+) is next. Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.15M.
Its public schools are run by the Alameda Unified school district. Two of its 29 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 971 | – |
| Alameda HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,868 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 4.9% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide.
21% of Alameda adults have obesity. Alameda beats the California average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 11% of Alameda adults report frequent physical distress.
| Alameda | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Alameda | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.9% | 10.6% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.5% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1983, 34 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Alameda.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $1.15M, is 11% below its June 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $9,949, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Alameda home is worth about $1,146,000, up 2.1% in a year, 50% above the California typical home. Alameda’s median rent is $2,474 a month.
| Alameda | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,474 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 51% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
14 miles of trail in 32 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach, 96 acres with 1.3 miles of trail.
| Alameda | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shoreline Park | 1.9 mi | 40 |
| 2. Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach | 1.3 mi | 96 |
| 3. Bohol Circle Immigrant Park | 0.5 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 43.8°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 72.6°.
Alameda has warm winters and cool summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Alameda | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 73°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 44°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Alameda has about as many jobs (30,434) as working residents, but only 4,564 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 22,638 in 2013 to 30,434.
Most working residents leave Alameda for work: only 13% work in town. 33% of workers work from home in Alameda. Jobs based in Alameda grew to 30,434 in 2023, 7,796 more than in 2013.
| Alameda | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 33% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $138,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
36 within 15 miles of the center of Alameda
About 6 of every 100 Alameda residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
13 places in Alameda on the National Register of Historic Places.
64 notable people were born in Alameda.
City in California, United States
Alameda ( AL-ə-MEE-də; Spanish: [alaˈmeða]; Spanish for "tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipelago in San Francisco Bay, consisting of Alameda Island, Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, along with other smaller islands. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 78,280.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Alameda.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | #221 | B− | D− | D | A | A |
| Oakland | #604 | D | D | D− | C | B+ |
| San Francisco | #308 | C+ | D− | D | B+ | A |
| Brisbane | #180 | B− | D− | C+ | B+ | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Alameda grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #221 of 841 in California. It grades A for health, D for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
64 notable people were born here, including Jimmy Doolittle and Leif Erickson.
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