# House Hacking in Livermore (94550): The $3.7B federal mega-lab anchor · The Rent Hacker > Livermore 94550 for house hackers: LLNL is in-ZIP: a $3.71B FY25 budget, about 9,340 employees, a $37.9B replacement-value campus, and record post-ignition hi Canonical: https://therenthacker.com/house-hacking/livermore-94550/ Source: The Rent Hacker (https://therenthacker.com/). License: RSL, attribution required — https://therenthacker.com/license.xml --- [East Bay guide](/house-hacking/east-bay/) · Tier A · Rank #26 of 87 # House hacking in Livermore (Central / south / LLNL). LLNL is in-ZIP: a $3.71B FY25 budget, about 9,340 employees, a $37.9B replacement-value campus, and record post-ignition hiring, plus Sandia-CA (~1,700). The anchor is the federal mega-lab rather than rail. **Status check:** Verified 2026-07-15: LLNL's FY2027 budget request came in at ~$3.2B, up 9.2% YoY and part of a 28% two-year increase, and in April 2026 the lab announced a landmark partnership with a commercial fusion company. The anchor is accelerating; the ZIP stays A because it lacks a transit or redevelopment leg. ## What's actually happening in 94550 - Existing anchor, accelerating LLNL in-ZIP ($3.71B FY25 budget, ~9,340 employees, $37.9B replacement-value campus, record post-ignition hiring) plus Sandia-CA (~1,700). [LLNL](https://www.llnl.gov/about/by-the-numbers) - Under construction Downtown Livermore Apartments (Eden Housing, 130 affordable units): broke ground May 2026. [Pleasanton Weekly](https://www.pleasantonweekly.com/housing/2026/05/19/parking-lot-to-housing-ground-breaks-on-long-awaited-downtown-livermore-apartments/) - Ongoing Downtown Specific Plan build-out. City of Livermore ## The numbers Median price ~$770K (low-confidence: the source looked anomalous this run) Market rent 2bd $2,500 / 3bd $3,000 whole-home (underwriting band) Property tax (Alameda County) ~1.33% effective (Livermore) Per-bed rent band $950–1,300/mo per bed ADU rent band $2,000–2,600/mo Whole-home rent band 2bd $2,500 / 3bd $3,000 whole-home Underwriting vacancy 5% underwriting vacancy Appreciation scenarios 1.5 / 3.0 / 4.0 %/yr (conservative / base / upside) ACE rail, no BART; the anchor is the federal mega-lab. Appreciation basis: LLNL tenant base; single-anchor thesis; mid capex. Rent bands are city-level medians; confirm the specific parcel before trusting any of them. [Run your own scenario in the calculator](/calculator/). ## Buildings we underwrote in 94550 1 building in 94550 carry a record. 0 beat renting and index funds; the rest did not. Every row links to its own page, with the numbers it was scored on. Property At our defaults Status [5252 And 5250 Norma Way](/property/rh-omuqla/5252-and-5250-norma-way/) 2 units · $1,198,000 −$797,843 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults The full [board](/board/) shows every region's current week; this table is every record we hold for 94550, newest basis first. ## The house-hack angle Room rentals to LLNL (~9,340) and Sandia (~1,700) staff; the downtown build-out adds walkable stock. ACE rail covers the commute (no BART). ## What breaks it - Single-anchor thesis: the federal lab is the catalyst, full stop - The ~$770K median is low-confidence: verify comps before trusting the basis - No BART: car-and-ACE commute patterns This page is the standing analysis. The weekly part, actual Livermore-area listings that pass the math, lands on the East Bay board every Wednesday. [This week's East Bay board](/board/sf-east-bay/) [This week's East Bay board](/board/sf-east-bay/) · [Read past East Bay issues](/issues/sf-east-bay/) · [Every pick, on the record](/track-record/) · [How a deal becomes a pick](/methodology/) Data synthesized 2026-07-04, catalysts re-verified 2026-07-15. Mortgage-rate basis: 6.43% (Freddie Mac PMMS, week of 2026-07-02). Sources are the public planning documents and market listings named above, fetched on the synthesis date. Nothing here is investment advice; every deal needs a bindable insurance quote and parcel-level verification.