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Big small town

Living in Rio del Mar, CA

Rio del Mar is a big small town of 9,201 people in Santa Cruz County, California. It's about 8 miles from Santa Cruz, CA and 24 miles from San Jose, CA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 73°F and winter highs 62°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $1.3M and rent runs about $3k a month.

9,201people
$1.3MTypical home
$3,407/moRent
73° / 62°Summer / winter
0"Snow
320Sunny days
68Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Big small town of 9,201
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 3,067 people per sq mi
  • 24 mi to San Jose, CA
  • 8 mi to Santa Cruz, CA
  • 4 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $1.3M (≈$8,438/mo)
  • Median rent $3,407/mo
  • Median household income $160k
  • Property tax about 0.6% of value
  • 6.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 73°F
  • Winter highs around 62°F
  • Comfortable summers (dew point 51°F)
  • 320 sunny days a year (173 totally clear)
  • 45 cloudy days a year
  • 23 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 68 days a year with rain or snow
  • Basically no snow
  • Snow days are rare
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • Rarely drops below 10°F
  • Usually calm

Safety

  • About average violent crime (312 per 100k), county-wide
  • Low property crime (1,282 per 100k), county-wide

People

  • Median age 51
  • 22% of households have kids
  • 25% are 65 or older
  • 64% have a college degree
  • Mixed community
  • 7% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 32 min
  • 1% walk or take transit to work
  • 26 mi to MRY airport
  • 28 mi to SJC (major hub)
  • 42 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 93% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1973
  • 96% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Hilly terrain
  • Elevation 108 ft
  • Right on the coast
  • 121 mi to a big lake
  • 7 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 131 mi to the nearest ski area
  • Campground in town
  • 35 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 1,001 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 72 bars within 25 mi
  • 455 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 6 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 54 museums within 25 mi
  • 13 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 5 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 45% of California districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 7 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 8 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • Vet in town
  • 2 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 4 congregations per 10k people
  • 6 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • Santa Cruz County: D+54 in 2024
  • California: D+20 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • Very low hurricane risk
  • Very low tornado risk
  • Moderate wildfire risk
  • High earthquake risk
  • Moderate flood risk
  • Moderate drought risk
  • Very low winter storm risk
  • Moderate heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

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