Berkeley
- A+Overall Grade
- City in California
- 174 reviews
- Public SchoolsA+
- Crime & SafetyC
- HousingC
- NightlifeA+
- Good for FamiliesA+
- DiversityA+
- JobsB
- WeatherA+
- Cost of LivingD
- Health & FitnessA+
- Outdoor ActivitiesA+
- CommuteA+
Real Estate
Median Home Value
$938,400
National
$184,700Median Rent
$1,612
National
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Berkeley Rankings
Niche rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews.
Berkeley Neighborhood Map
Crime & Safety
Crime & Safety
C
Based on violent and property crime rates.
Residents
Working in Berkeley
Jobs
B
Based on employment rates, job and business growth, and cost of living.
Median Household Income
$80,912
National
$55,322Berkeley Reviews
174 reviews
All Categories
Moving to Berkeley is undoubtably the best decision I have ever made! This particular city is wildly diverse and full of vibrance and excitement. Overlooking the high-cost of living that comes with the Bay Area -- the weather and college atmosphere are unprecedented. I highly recommend living here. After all, everyone deserves the happiness and opportunity this community offers to its residents.
Berkeley provides a vibrant yet peaceful environment. Berkeley is well served by public transit and good for walking and biking. Restaurants are great and have lots of variety. Berkeley is surrounded by a great natural environment with Tilden regional park and the Berkeley marina. U.C. Berkeley adds a culture of high level education to the city. Public schools from my experience are also quite good. People are often very healthy and socially conscious. Nightlife and events are okay but leave more to be desired. However Bay Area proximity makes up for lacking events, Berkeley is surrounded by a vast array of cities full of cool stuff. Economic and job prospects are also strong in the Bay. Berkeley's biggest downsides are expensive cost of living, especially housing, dirty streets, and crime levels that aren't particularly low especially property crime which is rampant.
Berkeley is an amazing city filled with genius college students and progressive, free-spirited locals. It's a liberal city where anyone is welcome and accepted. However, being a major city, there are some safety problems. I get reminders constantly for car robberies and assault attempts. As long as you are smart and safe though, you will hopefully be unaffected. There is also a very large homeless population living in Berkeley. It is frustrating that there isn't more being done to help these people get off the streets. I think focusing on helping the homeless community would create an overall safer city for all of Berkeley's inhabitants.