Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 83,457, settled in 1869.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Livermore grades B overall, 139th among California's 841 graded towns. It is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $161K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $1.1 million for a typical one and 7.9 times the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income. Livermore’s median rent is $2,677 a month, above both the California town median ($1,895 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Livermore is home to Las Positas College. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Where Livermore beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Livermore is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 92% 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: 855 in 1880, 87,955 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1904 and 6 maps from 1906 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Livermore. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw23 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
Big draw30 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaOracle ParkAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Levi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Livermore, 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 Livermore.
Livermore has less no health insurance than most of California, has home values still below their peak and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings.
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 5.7% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 2,126 U.S. towns with household incomes like Livermore’s, it is healthier than 54%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
24% of adults have obesity in Livermore. Livermore beats the California average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 17% of adults get no exercise outside work in Livermore.
| Livermore | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 24% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Livermore | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.7% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.9% | 17.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.6% | 15.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.07M.
Its public schools are run by the Livermore Valley Joint Unified school district. Three of its 24 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Mendenhall MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 876 | A |
| Granada HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,156 | A− |
| Lawrence ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 494 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
One flood insurance claim has been paid in Livermore since 1998.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
31 miles of trail in 48 parks and preserves. The trail density in Livermore is 1.2 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Springtown Wetlands Preserve, at 481 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Holdener Park | 2.2 mi | 59 |
| 2. Parkway Park | 1.9 mi | 43 |
| 3. Springtown Open Space | 1.7 mi | 79 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical value, about $1.07M, is 9% below its June 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $8,531, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Livermore home is worth about $1,072,000, down 2.3% in a year, 41% above the California typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 1,800 to 1,658 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Livermore’s property crime rate is 18 per 1,000 residents. Within California, it does better than 54% of towns.
| Livermore | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Livermore has mild winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 39° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 38,722 in 2013 to 53,386.
About one in 4 of Livermore’s working residents works in town. 22% of Livermore workers work from home. Jobs based in Livermore grew to 53,386 in 2023, 14,664 more than in 2013.
| Livermore | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $161,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 22% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Livermore
About 6 of every 100 Livermore residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
6 places in Livermore on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Livermore.
City in California, United States
Livermore is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley, giving its name to the Livermore Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area. Livermore was a railroad town named for Robert Livermore, a local rancher who settled in the area in the 1840s. It is the home of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for which the chemical element livermorium is named (and thus, placing the city's name in the periodic table). It is also the California site of Sandia National Laboratories, which is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its south side is home to loc…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Livermore.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livermore | #139 | B | D− | C | A− | A |
| Pleasanton | #65 | A− | D− | C+ | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Livermore grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #139 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 54% of towns.
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−.
29 notable people were born here, including Vanessa Ray and Kyle Allen.
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