Pala, CA population, income and ZIP codes

Pala CDP is a very small community in California, with 924 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #1083 of 1,618 ranked by population — larger than 33% of them. The median age here is 31.5 years against 39.1 nationally, a distinctly younger profile, typical of places with students, military posts or a fast-growing family population. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Pala CDP earn a median of $90,938 a year, 15.8% above the national figure of $78,538 and within a couple of points of the $91,111 median for the 1,050 California cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 12.3% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Pala CDP is valued at $265,000, 12.7% below the national figure and 55% below the $589,600 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,235 a month, 12.2% below the national figure, or roughly $14,820 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 16.3% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 59.9% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

With 924 residents, a handful of survey responses moves every median on this page. Compare Pala CDP against its county rather than against national figures.

No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.