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Moving to
Fairview.
Fairview is an unincorporated community in Alameda 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 Fairview
Fairview 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. Fairview deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks.
The good
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Highly educated workforce
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- High home prices
- Above-average commute times
- Air quality concerns
- Shrinking population
- High student-teacher ratio
How Fairview compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Fairview
Based on Fairview's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$5,288
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $105,760 a year
- 35% of Fairview renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$192,660
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $96,330
- Homes cost 6.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 87% above US
$2,644/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $2,644 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 $963,300. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.
Median home value $963,300 · 35% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.7% county unemployment
Unemployment in Alameda County is 4.7%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Alameda County (county-wide)
Safety
451 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Fairview doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Alameda 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 1413/100k · Policed by Alameda County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 35% above US
35 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 35 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; 19% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 75°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 44°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▲ 19% above US
43% bachelor's degree or higher
The population is well-educated, with 43% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.
Schools
2 public schools inside the boundary
There are 2 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 (10 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Fairview'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 ($2,644/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (19% of workers here already work from home) and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget and people who dread long commutes.
Other places near Fairview
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