LIVING IN WESTMINSTER
Westminster is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 90,938 people and 19 constituent neighborhoods, Westminster is the 81st largest community in California.
Housing costs in Westminster 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, Westminster isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Westminster are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Westminster is a city of sales and office workers, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Westminster who work in office and administrative support (11.71%), sales jobs (11.23%), and management occupations (8.75%).
Also of interest is that Westminster has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
The overall education level of Westminster is somewhat higher than in the average US city of 21.84%: 25.86% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Westminster in 2010 was $27,603, which is middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $110,412 for a family of four. However, Westminster contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Westminster is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Westminster home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Westminster residents report their race to be Asian, followed by White. Westminster also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 22.84% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Westminster include German, Irish, English, Italian, and French.
In addition, Westminster has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (45.54%).
The most common language spoken in Westminster is Vietnamese. Other important languages spoken here include English and Spanish.
WESTMINSTER HOUSING MARKET INFORMATION
With a population of 90,938, 27,529 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $695,617, real estate costs in Westminster 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 Westminster, accounting for 54.80% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Westminster include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 17.99%), mobile homes or trailers ( 10.50%), and a few duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 8.50%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Westminster are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 52.38% owning and 47.62% 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. Westminster's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 53.73% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Westminster include homes built between 1970-1999 ( 38.69%) and housing constructed between 2000 and later ( 6.79%).
WESTMINSTER HOME APPRECIATION RATES
In the last 10 years, Westminster has experienced some of the highest home appreciation rates of any community in the nation. Westminster real estate appreciated 64.01% over the last ten years, which is an average annual home appreciation rate of 5.07%, putting Westminster in the top 10% nationally for real estate appreciation. If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, Westminster definitely has a track record of being one of the best long term real estate investments in America through the last ten years.
NeighborhoodScout's data show that during the latest twelve months, Westminster's appreciation rate, at 4.53%, has been at or slightly above the national average. In the latest quarter, Westminster's appreciation rate has been 1.28%, which annualizes to a rate of 5.23%.
Relative to California, our data show that Westminster's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 60% 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 Westminster differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Westminster - 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 Westminster real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
Reasons To Invest
- Increasing Rental Demand
- High Appreciation Rates
- Population Growth
- Growing Job Market
- Ethnically-Diverse City
Looking for investment properties?
The key to successful real estate investing is finding the right location. Sign up to view the top available investment properties.
- See detailed financial and neighborhood analysis
- Leverage the experience of industry experts
- Invest remotely with comprehensive, hands-free services