The 10 Cheapest Oakland, CA Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Oakland are the cheapest of the cheap.

Chris Kolmar, About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: April 6, 2022

Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Oakland might be more expensive than living in rural California, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

So what exactly are those Oakland neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Oakland are the cheapest.

What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Oakland for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Oakland Airport looks to be the cheaptest Oakland neighborhood to live in.

At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Oakland. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Oakland that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Oakland.

Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.

For more California reading, check out:

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Oakland For 2022

1. Oakland Airport

Oakland Airport Oakland, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Salv007 | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 925
Cost Of Living Index: 103 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.5 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (19th cheapest)
More on Oakland Airport: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Coliseum Industrial

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,132
Cost Of Living Index: 118 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.1 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (48th cheapest)
More on Coliseum Industrial: Homes For Sale | Data

3. South Kennedy Tract

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,893
Cost Of Living Index: 116 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (63rd cheapest)
More on South Kennedy Tract: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Fruitvale Station

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 839
Cost Of Living Index: 117 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (8cheapest)
More on Fruitvale Station: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Peralta-Laney

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 753
Cost Of Living Index: 135 (42nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.3 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (36th cheapest)
More on Peralta-Laney: Homes For Sale | Data

6. Lakewide

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 3,396
Cost Of Living Index: 118 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.2 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (88th cheapest)
More on Lakewide: Homes For Sale | Data

7. Lockwood Tevis

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 2,794
Cost Of Living Index: 126 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.3 (12th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.022 (69th cheapest)
More on Lockwood Tevis: Homes For Sale | Data

8. Grand Lake

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 5,102
Cost Of Living Index: 135 (42nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.0 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (49th cheapest)
More on Grand Lake: Homes For Sale | Data

9. Acorn-Acorn Industrial

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,274
Cost Of Living Index: 135 (42nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.4 (33rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (25th cheapest)
More on Acorn-Acorn Industrial: Homes For Sale | Data

10. Produce And Waterfront

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 1,348
Cost Of Living Index: 127 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (78th cheapest)
More on Produce And Waterfront: Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Oakland Hoods In 2022

In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Oakland, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".

Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 130 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In Oakland." We're lookin' at you, Oakland Airport.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places Oakland. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Oakland

If you're measuring the neighborhoods in Oakland where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Oakland aren't all cheap. Chinatown takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Oakland.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more California reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Oakland For 2022

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Oakland Airport 103
2 Coliseum Industrial 118
3 South Kennedy Tract 116
4 Fruitvale Station 117
5 Peralta-Laney 135
6 Lakewide 118
7 Lockwood Tevis 126
8 Grand Lake 135
9 Acorn-Acorn Industrial 135
10 Produce And Waterfront 127
11 Eastmont Hills 145
12 Golf Links 149
13 Chabot Park 164
14 Jefferson 131
15 Durant Manor 134
16 Melrose 132
17 Iveywood 126
18 Fremont 122
19 South Stonehurst 120
20 Lincoln Highlands 157
21 Foothill Square 135
22 Millsmont 139
23 Bella Vista 145
24 Harrington 131
25 East Peralta 133
26 Arroyo Viejo 130
27 Las Palmas 131
28 North Stonehurst 123
29 Piedmont Pines 192
30 Sobrante Park 130
31 Sequoyah 152
32 Bancroft Business-Havenscourt 130
33 Hegenberger 119
34 Skyline-Hillcrest Estates 175
35 Shepherd Canyon 194
36 Caballo Hills 167
37 Brookfield Village 125
38 Montclair 196
39 Trestle Glen 207
40 Cox 128
41 Longfellow 136
42 Oakland Ave-Harrison St 136
43 Old City-Produce And Waterfront 150
44 Castlemont 127
45 Northgate 131
46 Adams Point 147
47 Crestmont 193
48 Redwood Heights 171
49 Columbia Gardens 132
50 Maxwell Park 158
51 Fairfax Business-Wentworth-Holland 132
52 Bartlett 139
53 Woodminster 206
54 Clawson 148
55 Montclair Business 202
56 Sheffield Village 188
57 Webster 126
58 Forestland 195
59 Glen Highlands 202
60 Leona Heights 160
61 Dimond 141
62 Saint Elizabeth 129
63 Upper Dimond 166
64 Crocker Highland 274
65 Merriwood 203
66 Eastmont 120
67 Piedmont Avenue 162
68 Glenview 178
69 School 144
70 Lakeshore 181
71 Fitchburg 122
72 Upper Rockridge 243
73 Hiller Highlands 221
74 Lake Merritt 161
75 Temescal 171
76 Joaquin Miller Park 224
77 Hawthorne 128
78 Laurel 146
79 Peralta-Hacienda 142
80 Merritt 135
81 South Prescott 161
82 Arrowhead Marsh 137
83 Seminary 123
84 Sausal Creek 145
85 Woodland 125
86 Panoramic Hill 241
87 Mountain View Cemetery 221
88 Piedmont 278
89 Rockridge 219
90 Prescott 140
91 Tuxedo 141
92 Claremont 253
93 Oakmore 198
94 Highland 133
95 Toler Heights 146
96 Oak Tree 134
97 Frick 140
98 Coliseum 122
99 Upper Laurel 165
100 Gaskill 158
101 Mosswood 165
102 Hoover-Foster 123
103 Fairview Park 199
104 Elmhurst Park 138
105 Cleveland Heights 162
106 Reservoir Hill-Meadow Brook 136
107 Upper Peralta Creek-Bartlett 142
108 Highland Terrace 136
109 Civic Center 137
110 Paradise Park 159
111 Golden Gate 163
112 North Kennedy Tract 131
113 Clinton 139
114 Pill Hill 149
115 Ivy Hill 149
116 Lynn-Highland Park 151
117 Downtown 136
118 Allendale 145
119 Patten 143
120 Shafter 191
121 Bushrod 172
122 Rancho San Antonio 137
123 Ralph Bunche 151
124 San Pablo Gateway 147
125 Waverly 135
126 Mcclymonds 146
127 Oak Center 143
128 Fairfax 154
129 Santa Fe 173
130 Chinatown 147

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Oakland.
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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