Lake Forest vs San Leandro
The short version
- Lake Forest is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 2% lower than in the San Leandro area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $844,200 in San Leandro and $937,000 in Lake Forest.
- Households earn more in Lake Forest ($135,175 vs $101,420 median).
- Lake Forest has the warmer winter: January highs of 68°F vs 59°F.
- Lake Forest has more scorching days: 35 a year at 90°F or hotter vs 9.
- Lake Forest is growing faster: +0.5% since 2020 vs -6.2%.
- Commutes are shorter in Lake Forest (26 vs 31 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Lake Forest, CA | San Leandro, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 86,333 | 85,353 |
| Growth since 2020 | +0.5% | -6.2% |
| People per square mile | 5,165 | 6,406 |
| Median age | 40.2 | 41.9 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 51% | 33% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $135,175 | $101,420 |
| Median home value | $937,000 | $844,200 |
| Home value to income | 6.9× | 8.3× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $2,672 | $2,186 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 113.6 | 115.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 170.4 | 194.7 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $85,200 | $86,700 |
| Homeowners | 71% | 58% |
| Top state income tax | 13.3% | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.03% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 25.5 | 31.2 |
| Work from home | 24% | 16% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 8% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| Poverty rate | 8.5% | 8.3% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 68° / 43° | 59° / 43° |
| July high / low | 85° / 61° | 75° / 57° |
| Precipitation per year | 14 in | 16 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 35 | 9 |
| Nights below freezing | 2 | 1 |
| Comfortable months | 10 | 9 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Very High | Very High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 99.8 | 99.8 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 11% | n/a |
| Home prices, past year | +3.3% | -4.8% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +45.5% | +8.2% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Lake Forest: October to July. San Leandro: March to November.
Full monthly tables: Lake Forest weather by month and San Leandro weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $85,200 in Lake Forest and $86,700 in San Leandro. Moving from Lake Forest to San Leandro, you would need about $76,400 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Lake Forest and San Leandro
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Lake Forest and San Leandro.
Which would you pick?
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