Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 226,442, settled in 1956.
Fremont is a city of 226,442, and it grades B+ overall, 105th of 841 graded towns in California. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 96% of the country and its schools rank ahead of 92% of California towns. The trade-offs: the typical home is worth about $1.4 million, 10.6 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. 64% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fremont, above both California’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). Fremont is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. Fremont is home to Ohlone College.
Where Fremont beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
3 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Fremont is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for health (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 4%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 43,790 in 1960, 230,504 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and 5 maps from 1941 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fremont. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw7 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
Big draw35 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw28 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
11 mi Stadium & arenaSAP CenterLevi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fremont, 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 Fremont.
Fremont keeps more of its land conserved than most of California and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
At 10.6 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income, the typical home (about $1.44M) costs more against local pay than in 80% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $9,190, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Fremont’s median rent is $2,933 a month. The typical Fremont home is worth about $1,440,000, down 1.5% in a year, 89% above the California typical home. 43% of Fremont renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Fremont | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,933 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 43% | 55% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.44M.
Its public schools are run by the Fremont Unified school district. Three of its 64 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,972 | – |
| American HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,618 | A+ |
| Mission San Jose HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,794 | A+ |
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. Against the 1,317 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fremont’s, it is healthier than 66%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
17% of adults have obesity in Fremont. Fremont beats the California average on 23 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 16% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Fremont.
| Fremont | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 29% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 22% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Fremont | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.9% | 10.6% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1978, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fremont.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its 20,574 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 95% of California towns.
66 miles of trail in 59 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Vargas Plateau Regional Park, 1,247 acres with 6.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coyote Hills Regional Park | 15.1 mi | 996 |
| 2. Vargas Plateau Regional Park | 6.2 mi | 1,247 |
| 3. Ardenwood Regional Preserve | 2.1 mi | 208 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 6,792 to 4,096 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Fremont is 1 per 1,000 residents. Within California, it does better than 50% of towns. The property crime rate in Fremont is 17 per 1,000 residents.
| Fremont | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 40.8°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 82.3°.
Fremont has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Fremont | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 82°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 41°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fremont has about as many jobs (121,081) as working residents, but only 18,725 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 85,016 in 2013 to 121,081.
Most working residents leave Fremont for work: only 17% work in town. Jobs based in Fremont grew to 121,081 in 2023, 36,065 more than in 2013. The top destinations are San Jose (12%), San Francisco (8%) and Santa Clara (6%).
| Fremont | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 32% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $182,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
19 within 15 miles of the center of Fremont
About 6 of every 100 Fremont residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 places in Fremont on the National Register of Historic Places.
46 notable people were born in Fremont.
City in California, United States
Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth most populous city in the Bay Area, behind San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland. It is the closest East Bay city to the high-tech Silicon Valley network of businesses, and has a strong tech industry presence. The city's largest employer is a Tesla manufacturing plant, employing 25,000 people as of 2024. The city's origins lie in the community that arose around Mission San José, founded in 1797 by the Spanish under Padre Fermín Lasuén. Fremont was incorporated on January 23, 1956, when the former towns of Missi…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Fremont.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fremont | #105 | B+ | D− | C | A | A+ |
| San Jose | #293 | C+ | D | D | B+ | A− |
| Union City | #307 | C+ | D− | C− | B+ | A |
| Sunol | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hayward | #528 | C− | D | D | C+ | B+ |
| Milpitas | #173 | B− | D | D | A− | A |
| Sunnyvale | #82 | B+ | D | C | A | A+ |
| Menlo Park | #109 | B+ | D− | C+ | A− | A+ |
Sunol isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fremont with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Fremont grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #105 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health, C for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 50% of towns.
46 notable people were born here, including Helen Wills and Len Wiseman.
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