What it's like to live in Newman
Newman is a small city in California with crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Newman deals with county unemployment above the national average, long average commutes, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and college degree attainment below the national average.
The good
- Low crime rates
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Long commutes
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- High rent burden for renters
How Newman compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Newman
Based on Newman's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,840
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $56,800 a year
- 53% of Newman renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$82,540
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $41,270
- Homes cost 5.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,420/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,420 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $412,700. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $412,700 · 53% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
7.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in Stanislaus County is 7.2%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Stanislaus County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 53% below US
155 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 399/100k · Newman Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 41% above US
37 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 36.6 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 run seriously hot, with average highs pushing 98°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 39°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 69% below US
11% 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
8 public schools inside the boundary
There are 8 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Pinnacles National Park (58 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Newman's strongest point is crime rates well below the national average; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and long average commutes. A year of median rent ($1,420/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up, people who dread long commutes, and people who struggle with heat.
Other places near Newman
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