Moving to
Castaic.

All Castaic data Compare Castaic

17,999people live here $129,863median household income▲ 61% above US $1,770median rent per month▲ 25% above US $792,000median home value▲ 138% above US

Castaic is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles 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 Castaic

Castaic is an unincorporated community in California with household incomes running above the national average and a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Castaic deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, and commute times longer than most cities.

The good

Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Above-average unemployment in the county
Above-average commute times
Air quality concerns
Shrinking population

How Castaic compares

Median household income

Castaic$129,863

California avg$99,122

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Castaic$1,770

California avg$2,036

US$1,413

Median home value

Castaic$792,000

California avg$734,700

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Castaic

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

To rent

$3,540

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

Income to keep rent under 30%: $70,800 a year
71% of Castaic renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$158,400

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $79,200
Homes cost 6.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 25% above US

$1,770/mo median rent

Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,770 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices are steep, with a median around $792,000. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $792,000 · 71% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.7% county unemployment

Unemployment in Los Angeles County is 5.7%, 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.

Los Angeles County (county-wide)

Safety

632 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

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

Property crime 1648/100k · Policed by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 19% above US

31 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 31 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. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 16% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

73%

Work from home

16%

Carpool

7.8%

Other

2.0%

Public transit

0.5%

Walk

0.3%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 92°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 45°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 16% above US

42% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 42% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

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 25:1, above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (28 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Castaic's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,770/mo) equals 16% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home) and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget, anyone moving without a job lined up, and anyone who doesn't drive.

See all the data for Castaic →·All California cities →