San Lorenzo 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 San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo is an unincorporated community in California with household incomes running above the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. San Lorenzo 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

The not so good

  • Rent well above the national average
  • High home prices
  • Above-average commute times
  • Air quality concerns
  • High student-teacher ratio

How San Lorenzo compares

Median household income

San Lorenzo$112,660
California avg$99,122
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

San Lorenzo$2,163
California avg$2,036
US$1,413

Median home value

San Lorenzo$847,100
California avg$734,700
US$332,700

What it takes to move to San Lorenzo

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

To rent

$4,326

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

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $86,520 a year
  • 46% of San Lorenzo renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$169,420

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $84,710
  • Homes cost 7.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 53% above US

$2,163/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $2,163 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 $847,100. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $847,100 · 46% 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

San Lorenzo 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▲ 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. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
75%
Carpool
11%
Work from home
8.3%
Public transit
3.3%
Other
1.5%
Walk
1.0%

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

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
30°40°50°60°70°80°90°3.5"Jan: 2.91" precipitationFeb: 3.11" precipitationMar: 2.35" precipitationApr: 1.20" precipitationMay: 0.58" precipitationJun: 0.15" precipitationJul: 0.00" precipitationAug: 0.10" precipitationSep: 0.08" precipitationOct: 0.81" precipitationNov: 1.51" precipitationDec: 3.20" precipitationJJan: high 59°F, low 43°FFFeb: high 62°F, low 45°FMMar: high 64°F, low 47°FAApr: high 67°F, low 50°FMMay: high 69°F, low 52°FJJun: high 74°F, low 55°FJJul: high 75°F, low 57°FAAug: high 76°F, low 58°F77°SSep: high 77°F, low 58°FOOct: high 74°F, low 54°FNNov: high 65°F, low 47°F43°DDec: high 59°F, low 43°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 30% below US

25% bachelor's degree or higher

College degree attainment runs below average at 25%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.

Schools

10 public schools inside the boundary

There are 10 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. 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 (11 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

San Lorenzo's strongest point is household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($2,163/mo) equals 23% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

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