Best PlacesFitchburg, Oakland, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fitchburg, Oakland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Fitchburg, Oakland ranks 5,533rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Fitchburg, Oakland
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Fitchburg, Oakland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fitchburg, Oakland ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 224 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where Fitchburg, Oakland ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Fitchburg, Oakland
A household needs to earn about $125,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fitchburg, Oakland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $52,271, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Fitchburg, Oakland's effective rate of 0.89%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fitchburg, Oakland
Fitchburg, Oakland runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fitchburg, Oakland.
Who works in Fitchburg, Oakland, and how
Work in Fitchburg, Oakland centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Fitchburg, Oakland
The coast is about 21 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Fitchburg, Oakland, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fitchburg, Oakland, month by month
Fitchburg, Oakland sees roughly 224 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 63° | 56° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Fitchburg, Oakland
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 3 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.5 million passengers in 2025, with 64 nonstop destinations.
Fitchburg, Oakland measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Fitchburg, Oakland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Fitchburg, Oakland
Is Fitchburg, Oakland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fitchburg, Oakland ranks 5,533rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, the weather, and big-city access, and lowest on civic engagement and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fitchburg, Oakland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $471,493. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $52,271 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Fitchburg, Oakland safe?
Fitchburg, Oakland is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $549 per resident a year.
Compare Fitchburg, Oakland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fitchburg, Oakland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fitchburg, Oakland represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Fitchburg, Oakland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fitchburg, Oakland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fitchburg, Oakland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fitchburg, Oakland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fitchburg, Oakland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fitchburg, Oakland detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.