1961 Harlow Fire photo 2, 1961
Ahwahnee’s story
133 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1961 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
- 1893Ahwahnee is settled
AhwahneeCA
The town was settled in 1893 and has 1,453 residents today.
1 bordering townMap →
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
1,453
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$467K
+0.1% in a year
Household income
$77K
median
Median age
68.3
years
Jobs based here
140
A commuter town
Is Ahwahnee a good place to live?
Ahwahnee’s best subject grade is a B+ for walkability; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 60% of residents are 65 or older in Ahwahnee, above both California’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (18%). On hazard risk, just 93 of California’s 1,064 towns do worse. The typical home is worth about $467K, 6.3 years of the Fresno metro’s $74K median household income. Ahwahnee’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile, below both the California town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park, at 115 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Ahwahnee has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Small town
1,453 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
NipinnawaseeAhwahnee
How Ahwahnee grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Ahwahnee is from typical.
Hazard riskWildfire tops the listD−Open →Cost of livingHomes are among the least affordable for local incomesDOpen →Jobs & income$77K median household income; 140 jobs based hereCOpen →HealthLess healthy than 66% of U.S. towns; John C Fremont Healthcare District 17.1 miles awayCOpen →SchoolsBelow the middle of the towns comparedCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.3 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 14.3% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 0% conserved landCOpen →HistoryGraded on historic places and the town’s ageDOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Housing market$467K typical home, up 0.1% in a year–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 68.3; 26% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 41 attractions →Yosemite National Park and 24 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ahwahnee. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year
Big draw28 mi MountainHalf Dome
38 mi National MonumentDevils Postpile National Monument100K visitors a year
28 mi WaterfallYosemite Falls
7 mi Scenic railwayYosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad
38 mi Stadium & arenaValley Children's StadiumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Yosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Half Dome: Jon Sullivan, Public domain · Devils Postpile National Monument: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Yosemite Falls: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad: Bobtalbot61, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Valley Children's Stadium: Emedina00, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Getting set up
Moving to Ahwahnee: who provides what
Ahwahnee is unincorporated, so Madera County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCal Am - Goldside water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers62% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesMadera CountyMadera County provides services here
SchoolsBass Lake Joint Union Elementary School DistrictYosemite Unified School District (9-12)2 districts serve Ahwahnee; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereMadera County Elections DivisionMadera County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2025
ZIP codes93644, 9360193644 53% · 93601 47%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ahwahnee.
SchoolsC
On state tests, Ahwahnee’s schools trail 66% of California districts
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Public schools: the Bass Lake Joint Union Elementary school district.
34%of CA districts it outscoresCSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasuma ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 270 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D−
Top of a very high hazard risk in Ahwahnee: wildfire
On expected storm and flood damage, Ahwahnee sits above 99% of U.S. communities. 54% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from wildfires, followed by inland flooding at 40%. Federal aid has come to Ahwahnee households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023.
99risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
WildfireInland flooding
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HousingCost of living grade D
Ahwahnee’s grade for cost of living is a D
The typical Ahwahnee home is worth about $467,000, about the same as a year ago, 39% below the California typical home. In Ahwahnee, 85% of households live in a home they own.
$467KZillow home value
Typical home value
Ahwahnee$467K
California$762K
+0.1%
value change, 1 year
3
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
With only 0.2 jobs per working resident, most people in Ahwahnee work out of town
The median commute is under 24 miles. The average commute in Ahwahnee is 14 minutes. The top destinations are Oakhurst (28%), Fresno (11%) and Yosemite Valley (4%). 1.8% of working residents work locally here.
2%work in town
| Ahwahnee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $77,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Ahwahnee2%
Oakhurst28%
Fresno11%
Yosemite Valley4%
Mariposa3%
24 mi
median commute distance
140
jobs based in Ahwahnee
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthC
A larger share of adults have high blood pressure in Ahwahnee than in most of California or the rest of the country
The share of adults in Ahwahnee who have diabetes: 15%. CDC measures, 32 in all: Ahwahnee beats California on 8 and trails on 12. Two figures for adults locally: 17% report frequent physical distress, 13% binge drink.
34%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Ahwahnee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 31% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 12% |
32 measures vs. California
8 better12 too close to call12 worse
| What stands out | Ahwahnee | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.9% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11% | 14.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 5.1% |
John C Fremont Healthcare District
17.1 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
The climate in Ahwahnee brings mild winters and hot summers
The July high for Ahwahnee comes to 96°F.
3″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter36–56°
Spring44–69°
Summer61–93°
Fall48–76°
Nov 4
typical first frost
Apr 24
typical last frost
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.4%conserved
0.4%
conserved · 26 of 7,350 acres
1.3 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park | 1.1 mi | 115 |
| 2. Wassama Roundhouse State Historic Park | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Ahwahnee
17pages on Ahwahnee
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Ahwahnee; the nearest are
Clovis Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Fresno33.1 mi$1,378 in-state tuitionCalifornia State University-FresnoUniversity or college · Public · Fresno38.3 mi$7,350 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Ahwahnee residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Ahwahnee for work
Where Ahwahnee’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
140jobs based in Ahwahnee
2%of working residents work in town
24 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Ahwahnee
Census-designated place in California, United States
Ahwahnee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Madera County, California, United States. It lies in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 2,326 feet (709 m), about 5.25 miles (8.45 km) west of Yosemite Forks. The population was 2,296 at the 2020 United States census. Historically a midway stop on the Raymond–Wawona stagecoach route to Yosemite, Ahwahnee later became the site of the Tri-County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, which operated from 1919 to 1969. The area includes Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park, on the former sanatorium grounds, and Wassama Round House State Historic Park, a reconstructed Miwok ceremonial site.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 10 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,326 ft
- ZIP code
- 93601
Questions about Ahwahnee
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ahwahnee, CA expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.