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Mid-size city

Living in San Rafael, CA

San Rafael is a mid-size city of 60,433 people in Marin County, California. It's about 16 miles from Vallejo, CA and 34 miles from San Francisco, CA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 80°F and winter highs 56°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $1.4M and rent runs about $2k a month.

60,433people
$1.4MTypical home
$2,377/moRent
80° / 56°Summer / winter
0"Snow
270Sunny days
68Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Mid-size city of 60,433
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 3,643 people per sq mi
  • 34 mi to San Francisco, CA
  • 16 mi to Vallejo, CA
  • Has its own stores and services

Money

  • Typical home $1.4M (≈$8,548/mo)
  • Median rent $2,377/mo
  • Median household income $119k
  • Property tax about 0.7% of value
  • 6.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 80°F
  • Winter highs around 56°F
  • Comfortable summers (dew point 52°F)
  • 270 sunny days a year (95 totally clear)
  • 95 cloudy days a year
  • 34 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 68 days a year with rain or snow
  • Basically no snow
  • Snow days are rare
  • 2 days a year over 100°F
  • Rarely drops below 10°F
  • Breezy

Safety

  • About average violent crime (357 per 100k)
  • About average property crime (1,961 per 100k)

People

  • Median age 43
  • 27% of households have kids
  • 20% are 65 or older
  • 50% have a college degree
  • Very diverse community
  • 7% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 28 min
  • 11% walk or take transit to work
  • 24 mi to OAK airport
  • 24 mi to OAK (major hub)
  • 14 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 56% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1968
  • 95% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 374 ft
  • Right on the coast
  • 122 mi to a big lake
  • 4 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 132 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 2 mi to the nearest campground
  • 46 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 3,474 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 570 bars within 25 mi
  • 1,190 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 61 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 144 museums within 25 mi
  • 57 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 7 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the top 25% of California districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 3 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 3 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • Vet in town
  • 2 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 3 congregations per 10k people
  • College in town

Politics

  • Marin County: D+64 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
  • Low heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

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