Pleasant Hill, the Bay Area's own backyard, is an ideal place to start your next journey. The bustling city of San Francisco lies a mere 20 miles away, with Oakland even closer. Attractions such as Six Flags Discovery Kingdom are close by, and locals can enjoy family-friendly entertainment with ease.
Not to mention that wine country awaits you close by, and there are some truly remarkable restaurants in the Poet's Corner downtown area alone. Living up to its name,
Pleasant Hill has plenty of outdoor activities for all those who love spending time outdoors. Parks like Dinosaur Hill Park encircle it from every side, offering great views of Mount Diablo. However, considering a move to this catch-all city leaves buyers with a few questions, like what the cost of living in Pleasant Hill really is.
Median home price in Pleasant Hill
According to the
National Association of Realtors quarterly report, the median home price in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area is $1,300,000- making it one of the highest median home prices in the country. Pleasant Hill is located within this metropolitan area, and its median home prices can be expected to align with this data, although buyers may see a slight drop in median home price the farther away they are from urban areas, amenities, and schools- all factors that affect individual home prices.
For example, in contrast with the metro area median home price, Pleasant Hill is noted as having a $931,969 median home price- closely aligned with the median for the San Francisco metro area but slightly lower.
For a holistic perspective on the median home price in Pleasant Hill, an impressive 90% of the measured metro areas in the fourth quarter of 2022 saw an increase in single-family existing-home prices, with 166 out of 186 regions experiencing a climb. The national median home price rose to $378,700. That was 4.0% higher than in the 4th quarter of 2021, but note how much lower the national median home price is compared to the median home price in the city of Pleasant Hill and in the greater metro area.
Cost of Utilities in Pleasant Hill
Payscale reports that utility costs in Pleasant Hill are about 30% higher than the national average. Energy bills are 230.22/mo, on average, while phone bills are 247.67/mo on average. Phone bill calculations may also include cable services. It's worth noting that this is simply an average. Single-person households are likely to spend much less on utilities, while families will have higher bills.
The World Population Review says that Pleasant Hill has twice the number of family households as it does non-family households, which contributes partially to the skew towards the higher utility prices- we're considering several people on a phone plane and more than one person occupying a house. However, it is also true that the cost of utilities in Pleasant Hill is simply higher in general.
Cost of Groceries in Pleasant Hill
Moving to Pleasant Hill? Expect a higher grocery bill. Grocery costs have been on the rise for a few years due to a variety of economic stressors, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, and an increase in natural disasters. Grocery prices in California are feeling the impacts of national and international economic conditions, and additionally, groceries in Pleasant Hill are roughly 30% higher than the national average grocery prices.
Residents of Pleasant Hill can expect to pay upwards of $5 for a loaf of bread, for example, $3 for a carton of eggs, and over $4 for a bunch of bananas.
Cost of Transportation in Pleasant Hill
The cost of public transportation on the Bay Area Regional Transportation System(BART) is not that expensive. A one-way trip is $2.00 on the BART, comparable to other public transportation systems in major cities throughout the country, with free transfers and low-priced transfers, depending on the type of transfer.
Gas prices in Pleasant Hill, on the other hand, are 34% higher than the national average, with a gallon priced at $4.56 right now. For buyers who use driving as a primary method of transportation, the cost of living in Pleasant Hill- in total, 51% higher than the national average cost of living- will be affected by the frequency of driving. However, as the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more people are working from home- so driving may be largely avoidable for some.
Median Household Income in Pleasant Hill
Those that live in Pleasant Hill are usually financially able to afford to live in this Californian city, as evidenced by the median income. The median family income is $144,258, with the median household income sitting at 125,573, while the non-family median income is $80,240, with the highest earners in Pleasant Hill between the ages of 35 and 60. Unsurprisingly, there is a notable difference between a non-family- neither a "household" nor a "family"- and household and family median incomes.
What's the difference between a household and a family? The U.S. Census Bureau says that all people living in the same housing unit, regardless of their relationship with each other, form a household. This could include one person who lives alone or multiple unrelated individuals and families that are cohabitating. A family is specifically defined as two or more persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption, all residing under the same roof—with at least one being designated as the householder.
When examining the median income of households and families, a discernible difference is present depending on size. Even though there could be a causal relationship between age and income, it's more likely that other important factors accompany family size.
The most prominent distinction can be seen in 1-person versus 2-person households, whereas one individual earns $27,237 annually as opposed to two people with an annual income of $58,121. This example, based on national averages, can be seen in the difference between non-families and household and family incomes in Pleasant Hill.
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