What it's like to live in Ceres
Ceres is a small city in California. The numbers below lay out what daily life there actually looks like.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Ceres deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, unemployment above the national average, and commute times longer than most cities.
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- High home prices
- Above-average unemployment
- Above-average commute times
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
How Ceres compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Ceres
Based on Ceres's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,278
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $65,560 a year
- 50% of Ceres renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$84,960
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $42,480
- Homes cost 5.4× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 16% above US
$1,639/mo median rent
Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,639 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices run above average, with a median around $424,800. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $424,800 · 50% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▲ 100% above US
8.6% unemployment
Unemployment here is 8.6%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▲ 14% above US
374 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 1518/100k · Ceres Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 30% above US
34 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 33.8 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; 6% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 93°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 40°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 65% 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
20 public schools inside the boundary
There are 20 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 22:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site (60 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Nothing in Ceres'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 ($1,639/mo) equals 25% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up, people who dread long commutes, and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Ceres
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