Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 5,179 people live in this town, in California.
Kensington’s strongest is health (A+). Add walkability to its strengths: it is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Cost of living is its weak spot — the typical home is worth about $1.5 million, 11 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income. It lags on hazard risk as well — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. The overall grade comes out at B−, 174th of 841 in California. That leaves it better than 54% of U.S. towns. On history, just 79 of California’s 1,063 towns do better. 84% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more here, above both California’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Kensington beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Kensington | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.7% | 17.9% |
Where Kensington’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Kensington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,823 in 1970, 5,428 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2022 and 8 maps from 1895 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kensington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw9 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw10 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaOracle Park
Big draw12 mi GardenPresidio of San FranciscoAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0
Kensington is unincorporated, so Contra Costa County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Kensington.
Kensington fares better on crime within California than nationally, has less food insecurity than most of California and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
At 11 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income, the typical home (about $1.49M) costs more against local pay than in 82% of California towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
The typical Kensington home is worth about $1,490,000, up 5.3% in a year, 96% above the California typical home. The going rate for rent for Kensington comes to $3,501 a month. For households here, the share who live in a home they own is 87%.
| Kensington | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 87% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The public schools here belong to the West Contra Costa Unified school district. Its one school is below. Kensington’s only public school teaches 473 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 473 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with California is food insecurity: 4.7% of its 4,469 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.9% statewide. Against the 518 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kensington’s, it is healthier than 69%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
78% of adults had a checkup this year in Kensington. The town beats the California average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. Among 847 California towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who worry about having enough food than Kensington.
| Kensington | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.2% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Kensington | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.7% | 17.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.8% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Nearly four fifths of Kensington’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 19%. One declared disaster, in 2022, has brought federal aid to Kensington households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 494 in 2013 to 719. 54% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Only 3% of working residents stay in Kensington for work; the rest commute out. Jobs in Kensington grew by 225 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 719. The town’s median household income is $237,000. The top destinations are San Francisco (24%), Berkeley (14%) and Oakland (10%).
| Kensington | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $237,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 42°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 76.3°.
For Kensington, the January low is 42°F. Snowfall is close to zero. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Kensington | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 76°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 42°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
There are 0.8 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve. Kensington has one park or preserve, 11 acres in all.
| Kensington | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kensington Park | 0.1 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 18.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 81% of California’s graded towns. Its B− tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; Albany (C−) comes closest.
The violent offense rate in Kensington is 0.9 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate locally is 11.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Kensington | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.3 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
35 within 15 miles of the center of Kensington
About 6 of every 100 Kensington residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Unincorporated community in California, United States
Kensington is an unincorporated community and census designated place located in the Berkeley Hills, in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Many distinguished University of California, Berkeley professors, Nobel Prize laureates, and other notable San Francisco Bay Area professionals reside or have resided in Kensington, such as Robert Oppenheimer who was the director of the Manhattan Project's Project Y that developed the atomic bombs during World War II. The population was 5,428 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Kensington.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | #174 | B− | D | B− | C+ | A+ |
| El Cerrito | #434 | C | D− | D | C+ | A |
| Berkeley | #182 | B− | D | D− | A | A |
| Richmond | #605 | D | C− | D | C+ | C+ |
| Albany | #91 | B+ | D | C− | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kensington grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #174 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living 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.
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