LIVING IN FULLERTON
Fullerton is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 139,640 people and 28 constituent neighborhoods, Fullerton is the 42nd largest community in California.
Housing costs in Fullerton are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in California.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Fullerton is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Fullerton is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Fullerton who work in sales jobs (11.76%), office and administrative support (11.74%), and management occupations (11.05%).
Also of interest is that Fullerton has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Fullerton is made interesting by being both a reasonably big city and having a major college student population: students here will find that the city provides a lot of amenities, culture, and opportunities for them. Fullerton is more than just a college town, however, though the thousands of students certainly are a major part of the character of the city, as well as a contributor to the local economy.
Not only is Fullerton a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider Fullerton a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.
In Fullerton, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 30.53 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.
Fullerton is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 41.18% of adults in Fullerton have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.
The per capita income in Fullerton in 2010 was $34,296, which is middle income relative to California, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $137,184 for a family of four. However, Fullerton contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Fullerton is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Fullerton home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Fullerton, accounting for 37.21% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Fullerton residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Fullerton include German, English, Irish, Italian, and European.
Fullerton also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 30.13%.
The most common language spoken in Fullerton is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.
FULLERTON HOUSING MARKET INFORMATION
With a population of 139,640, 45,782 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $642,335, real estate costs in Fullerton are among some of the highest in the nation, although house prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive California communities.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Fullerton, accounting for 51.42% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Fullerton include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 29.06%), row houses and other attached homes ( 9.49%), and a few duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 7.96%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Fullerton are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 50.40% owning and 49.60% renting.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Fullerton's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 48.59% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Fullerton include homes built between 1970-1999 ( 37.25%) and housing constructed between 2000 and later ( 8.29%). There's also some housing in Fullerton built before 1939 ( 5.87%).
FULLERTON HOME APPRECIATION RATES
In the last 10 years, Fullerton has experienced some of the highest home appreciation rates of any community in the nation. Fullerton real estate appreciated 53.06% over the last ten years, which is an average annual home appreciation rate of 4.35%, putting Fullerton in the top 20% nationally for real estate appreciation. If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, Fullerton definitely has a track record of being one of the best long term real estate investments in America through the last ten years.
Over the last year, Fullerton appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Fullerton's appreciation rate has been 2.77%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Fullerton were at 1.28%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 5.23%.
Relative to California, our data show that Fullerton's latest annual appreciation rate is lower than 70% of the other cities and towns in California.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Fullerton differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Fullerton - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Fullerton real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
Reasons To Invest
- Increasing Rental Demand
- Increasing Appreciation Rates
- Population Growth
- Growing Job Market
- Ethnically-Diverse City
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