13 Safest and Richest Midsize West Coast Cities in 2026
Silicon Valley is home to the majority of the West Coast’s safest and wealthiest midsize cities. Of the 13 West Coast cities identified by MoneyLion researchers as the safest and richest, eight midsize locales are based in Northern California. And while all 13 cities boast six-figure incomes, residents in San Ramon and Pleasanton top household earnings at more than $190,000 annually.
MoneyLion drew upon existing in-house research for this article with midsized cities defined as those with a total population between 75,000 and 500,000 people. We studied each location’s average household income, average home value and crime data (via the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Offenses Known to Law Enforcement) and pulled West Coast cities with average incomes of $100,000 or more. See which 13 midsize West Coast cities rank among the safest and wealthiest below.
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1. San Ramon, California
Population: 85,993
Median household income: $196,161
Average home value: $1,543,534
Total cost of living annually: $132,738
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 11.13
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 0.86
2. Pleasanton, California
Population: 76,960
Median household income: $190,124
Average home value: $1,601,646
Total cost of living annually: $135,973
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 16.77
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 1.15
3. Mountain View, California
Population: 83,732
Median household income: $189,917
Average home value: $2,037,086
Total cost of living annually: $165,087
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 27.73
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 3.07
4. Sunnyvale, California
Population: 154,236
Median household income: $186,170
Average home value: $2,168,909
Total cost of living annually: $173,795
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 19.09
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 2.45
5. Fremont, California
Population: 228,295
Median household income: $181,506
Average home value: $1,543,132
Total cost of living annually: $131,695
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 23.28
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 1.96
6. Milpitas, California
Population: 78,578
Median household income: $178,798
Average home value: $1,502,891
Total cost of living annually: $129,874
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 31.83
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 3.14
7. Bellevue, Washington
Population: 151,847
Median household income: $165,576
Average home value: $1,516,154
Total cost of living annually: $127,046
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 33.39
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 1.39
8. Redmond, Washington
Population: 77,353
Median household income: $162,560
Average home value: $1,402,276
Total cost of living annually: $119,245
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 27.40
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 1.31
9. Livermore, California
Population: 85,522
Median household income: $160,775
Average home value: $1,122,823
Total cost of living annually: $103,538
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 23.25
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 2.35
10. Kirkland, Washington
Population: 92,621
Median household income: $150,414
Average home value: $1,265,788
Total cost of living annually: $110,516
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 20.12
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 0.61
11. Daly City, California
Population: 101,964
Median household income: $123,547
Average home value: $1,143,595
Total cost of living annually: $106,314
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 18.08
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 2.96
12. Hillsboro, Oregon
Population: 108,231
Median household income: $106,409
Average home value: $522,557
Total cost of living annually: $60,106
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 24.29
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 3.18
13. Renton, Washington
Population: 105,317
Median household income: $100,432
Average home value: $764,375
Total cost of living annually: $77,287
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents: 33.13
Violent crime rate per 1,000 residents: 3.39
Methodology: For this study, MoneyLion analyzed midsized cities to find the safest and richest places to live. Midsized cities are considered cities with a total population between 75,000 and 500,000 people. The total population, population ages 65 and over, total households, median household income, and mean household income were all sourced from U.S. Census 2024 ACS. The cost of living indexes were sourced from Sperling's BestPlaces and using the national average expenditure costs for all households, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average cost of expenditures was calculated for each city. The average single family home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index. Assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage can be calculated for each city. Using crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Offenses Known to Law Enforcement, the property crimes and violent crimes reported in each city was found. Using the total population and crimes reported, the crime rate per 1000 residents was calculated. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes for each location and all locations with a livability below 80 were removed as they represent locations with a lower quality of life. The total cost of living was scored and weighted at 1.00, the mean household income was scored and weighted at 1.00, the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.00, the property crime rate per 1000 was scored and weighted at 1.00, the violent crime rate per 1000 was scored and weighted at 1.00. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the safest and richest midsized cities in the U.S. All data is up-to-date as of April 23rd, 2026.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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