Moving to Colma
San Mateo County loses about 10.7 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.
Where people come from and where they go, top counties
Within California, other states or abroad
Income per tax return
People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of San Mateo County; flows under 20 returns are not published.
- Who moves here
- 6.5% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.0% from another state. County figure.
- Who arrives and who leaves
- Households moving into San Mateo County report $167,300 a year in income on average; those leaving, $186,400, so leavers earn more than newcomers.
- Income you would need
- $92,100 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
- Rent or buy
- Median rent is $2,303 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $4,001 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $1,062,000.
- Getting to work
- 28 minutes each way on average; 21.4% work from home; 5.8% take transit.
- If it is close but not quite
- Gilroy, CA matches it on character. Compare the two
All 5 moving measures
| Measure | Colma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved here in the past year1County figure | 6.5% | 13% above | |
| Moved from another state1 | 0.0% | below (median 2.0%) | |
| Net movers per 1,000 people8County figure | -10.7 | below (median -0.6) | |
| Income of households moving in8County figure | $167,342 | 137% above | |
| Income of households moving out8County figure | $186,435 | 165% above |
What it costs to live here
Median home value is $1,062,000, 232% above the median place.
Could you afford it?
Uses the median rent in Colma, $2,303 a month, and local prices for everything else (99.4 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Colma.
All 16 cost and housing measures
| Measure | Colma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent1 | $2,303 | 69% above | |
| Rent to income1 | 18.6% | 9% below | |
| Property tax rate1 | 0.7% | 19% below | |
| Home price to income1 | 7.2x | 88% above | |
| Prices vs US average2Metro figure | 115.6 | 15% above | |
| Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure | $3,697 | 129% above | |
| HUD area median income4County figure | $200,800 | 87% above | |
| Property tax paid (median)1 | $7,830 | 140% above | |
| Median home value1 | $1,062,000 | 232% above | |
| Home prices, 1-year change5County figure | -0.6% | below (median 3.2%) | |
| Home prices, 5-year change5County figure | 22.5% | 56% below | |
| Homeownership1 | 53.3% | 20% below | |
| Renters paying 30%+1 | 45.2% | 11% below | |
| Owner costs with a mortgage1 | $4,001 | 114% above | |
| Vacant homes1County figure | 7.9% | 12% above | |
| Median year built1 | 1990 | 1% above |
Work and pay
Median household income is $148,295, 85% above the median place.
More on work and pay, against the typical place
All 10 work and pay measures
| Measure | Colma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income1 | $148,295 | 85% above | |
| Income per person1 | $52,766 | 32% above | |
| Unemployment1County figure | 4.8% | 2% below | |
| Average annual pay6County figure | $214,295 | 225% above | |
| Pay growth, 1 year6County figure | 9.1% | 146% above | |
| Jobs6County figure | 411,346 | 173% above | |
| Poverty rate1 | 6.7% | 38% below | |
| Mean commute1 | 28 min | 13% above | |
| Works from home1 | 21.4% | 72% above | |
| Commutes by transit1 | 5.8% | above (median 0.8%) |
Who lives here
Population change since 2020 is -5.7%, below the median place (median 1.1%).
More about who lives here, against the typical place
All 9 people measures
| Measure | Colma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population1 | 1,636 | 6646th largest | |
| Population change since 20207 | -5.7% | below (median 1.1%) | |
| Median age1 | 38.1 | 2% below | |
| Bachelor's or higher1 | 26.7% | 17% below | |
| High school or higher1 | 87.3% | 5% below | |
| Household size1 | 3.5 | 39% above | |
| Born abroad1 | 33.2% | 276% above | |
| No health insurance1County figure | 3.8% | 41% below | |
| Homes with broadband1 | 91.3% | 1% below |
Life in Colma
64 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.
Out the door, against the typical place
Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)
Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.
All 16 schools and local life measures
| Measure | Colma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public schools13 | 2 | 78% below | |
| Public school students13 | 785 | 84% below | |
| Students per teacher13 | 20.1 | 31% above | |
| Restaurants and bars per 10k9County figure | 27.2 | 31% above | |
| Shops per 10k9County figure | 24.6 | 19% below | |
| Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k9County figure | 4.7 | 15% above | |
| Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k9County figure | 23.5 | 16% above | |
| Child care centers per 10k9County figure | 4.8 | 109% above | |
| Parks per 10k10 | 24.4 | 140% above | |
| Playgrounds per 10k10 | 12.2 | 30% above | |
| Grocery stores per 10k10 | 0.0 | below (median 2.1) | |
| Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k10 | 67.2 | above (median 11.2) | |
| Libraries per 10k10 | 0.0 | below (median 0.9) | |
| Named paths and bike trails10 | 0.0 | below (median 2.0) | |
| Transit stops per sq mi10 | 11.1 | above (median 0.2) | |
| National Register listings11County figure | 64 | 392% above |
Safety, weather and risk
Violent crime per 100k is 1,276, above the median place (median 192).
Counts only offenses reported by the city police department. Sheriff, state and campus police are not included, and some departments do not report to the FBI at all, so compare with care.
All 8 weather and risk measures
| Measure | Colma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| July average high14County figure | 74°F | 15% below | |
| January average low14County figure | 42°F | 68% above | |
| Average temperature14County figure | 57°F | 4% above | |
| Annual precipitation14County figure | 28.7 in | 34% below | |
| Natural hazard risk15County figure | 99.2 | 7% above | |
| Tornado risk15County figure | 30.6 | 62% below | |
| Wildfire risk15County figure | 92.0 | 50% above | |
| Heat wave risk15County figure | 91.6 | 2% above |
How it is changing
Five-year survey estimates, one point per release.
Median gross rent
Median household income
Median home value
Population estimate
Citytistics measures
Measures only Citytistics publishes, built from the figures on this page. Scores of 100 beat every place we track. Formulas
Colma in 2030: where the trends point
If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 18% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 19% now.
Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.
| Measure | Latest | 2030 projection | Likely range | Avg. per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,303/mo (2024) | $2,880/mo | $2,360 to $3,510/mo | +3.8% |
| Median household income | $148,295 (2024) | $190,000 | $160,500 to $224,500 | +4.2% |
| Median home value | $1,062,000 (2024) | $1,498,000 | $1,087,000 to $2,063,000 | +5.9% |
| Population | 1,385 (2025) | 1,360 | 1,310 to 1,420 | −0.3% |
The median home would be worth 7.9 years of the median income in 2030, against 7.2 now.
A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.
Places like Colma
The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.
| Place | Rent | Income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilroy, CA | $2,301 | $133,107 | Compare |
| Alum Rock, CA | $2,389 | $126,705 | Compare |
| East Palo Alto, CA | $2,244 | $113,493 | Compare |
| Burbank, CA | $2,566 | $134,518 | Compare |
Nearby
- Daly City, CA2 mi
- San Bruno, CA4 mi
- South San Francisco, CA4 mi
- Pacifica, CA5 mi
- Millbrae, CA6 mi
- Burlingame, CA8 mi
Compare Colma with
Common questions
Is Colma a good place to live?
It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 9.2% a year while rent rose 0.7%, so pay gained on rent more than in 96% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. Owning with a mortgage costs about $1,698 a month more than the median rent, a wider gap than in 96% of places its size. On cost, space and class size it scores 42 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.
Is Colma expensive to live in?
The median rent takes 18.6% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $1,062,000.
What salary do you need to live in Colma?
To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $92,120 a year. Work it out from your current city.
Is Colma safe?
There were 1,276 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents, against 192 in the typical place.
What places are similar to Colma?
On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Gilroy, CA, Alum Rock, CA, East Palo Alto, CA and Burbank, CA.
Sources and methods
The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
- Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
- Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
- House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
- Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
- SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
- County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
- OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
- National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
- Crime Data Explorer · Federal Bureau of Investigation · 2025 data
- Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
- 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
- National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).
What stands out compares Colma with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Colma itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/colma-california
Citytistics. “Colma, California.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/colma-california/
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.