ZIP Code 94542 — Hayward, California

The median home in 94542 is valued at $1,053,100 against a median household income of $132,747, a price-to-income ratio of 7.9. That is above the 6.7 median across the 1,558 California ZIP codes with published housing data, and well past the 3.0 ratio that marks an attainable market nationally, so buying here on a local median income requires substantial savings or a second income. Within Alameda County, 94542 ranks 23 of 47 ZIPs on affordability (1 = lowest ratio); the county median ratio is 7.9. Renting takes 21.9% of median household income (median rent $2,424 a month), under the 30% cost-burden threshold.

94542 ranks 239 of 1,558 statewide on median household income and 282 of 1,558 on median home value; its income is above the $125,410 Alameda County median. 71% of households own their home, above the 64% statewide ZIP median, making this a majority-owner ZIP. 48% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, far above the 31% median, and the poverty rate is 7.5%, below the 10.8% statewide ZIP median. Unemployment stands at 7.7%.

With 1,861 residents per square mile across 8.7 square miles of land, 94542 is far denser than the statewide ZIP median of 1,120 (rank 708 of 1,558). This is a low-density pattern of large lots, small towns or scattered subdivisions.