Cost of Living and Housing in Foster City, California

Foster City has about 32,792 residents. Median gross rent is $3,501 per month and median household income is $199,143.

Comparison scope: “dataset median” below means the median among 1,211 cities across 10 states in this dataset. It is not presented as a nationwide Census median. The figures use 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates and may lag current listings.

Median Gross Rent $3,501/mo 112% above the dataset median

Median Home Value $1,838,200 391% above the dataset median

Median Household Income $199,143 137% above the dataset median

Owner-Occupied Homes 51% Share of occupied housing units

Rent-to-Income Baseline 21% Annual median rent ÷ household income

Home Value-to-Income 9.2x Median value ÷ household income

How Foster City compares

Rent is 112% above the dataset median, while household income is 137% above the dataset median. Within California, Foster City ranks #344 from lowest to highest rent and #13 from highest to lowest household income among 347 cities in this dataset.

The rent-to-income figure compares two citywide medians. It is useful for broad comparison, but it is not an individual household budget or a measure of renter cost burden.

Similar-size cities in California

Frequently asked questions

What is the median rent in Foster City?

Median gross rent is $3,501 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

What is the median home value in Foster City?

The median value of owner-occupied homes is $1,838,200 in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

What is the median household income?

Median household income in Foster City is $199,143 per year.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Local database refreshed 2026-07-11.