Bay Point is an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, CA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Bay Point

Bay Point is an unincorporated community in California. The numbers below lay out what daily life there actually looks like.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Bay Point deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, long average commutes, and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks.

The not so good

  • Rent well above the national average
  • High home prices
  • Long commutes
  • Air quality concerns
  • Low college degree attainment
  • Shrinking population

How Bay Point compares

Median household income

Bay Point$82,565
California avg$99,122
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Bay Point$2,063
California avg$2,036
US$1,413

Median home value

Bay Point$525,000
California avg$734,700
US$332,700

What it takes to move to Bay Point

Based on Bay Point's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$4,126

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $82,520 a year
  • 50% of Bay Point renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$105,000

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $52,500
  • Homes cost 6.4× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 46% above US

$2,063/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $2,063 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $525,000. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $525,000 · 50% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.8% county unemployment

Unemployment in Contra Costa County is 4.8%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Contra Costa County (county-wide)

Safety

252 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Bay Point doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 929/100k · Policed by Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 39% above US

36 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 36.1 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 5% take public transit.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
69%
Carpool
21%
Public transit
5.0%
Work from home
4.5%
Other
0.8%
Walk
0.5%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 87°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 42°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
30°50°70°90°3.5"Jan: 3.21" precipitationFeb: 3.19" precipitationMar: 2.26" precipitationApr: 1.12" precipitationMay: 0.51" precipitationJun: 0.16" precipitationJul: 0.00" precipitationAug: 0.02" precipitationSep: 0.06" precipitationOct: 0.73" precipitationNov: 1.61" precipitationDec: 3.18" precipitationJJan: high 58°F, low 41°FFFeb: high 62°F, low 44°FMMar: high 67°F, low 47°FAApr: high 71°F, low 49°FMMay: high 78°F, low 53°FJJun: high 84°F, low 57°F88°JJul: high 88°F, low 59°FAAug: high 88°F, low 59°FSSep: high 85°F, low 58°FOOct: high 78°F, low 53°FNNov: high 66°F, low 45°F41°DDec: high 58°F, low 41°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 63% below US

13% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

4 public schools inside the boundary

There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 27:1, above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial (4 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Nothing in Bay Point's numbers stands out as a clear strength, and the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($2,063/mo) equals 30% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget and people who dread long commutes.

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