AltoCA
A town of 1,024.
Is Alto a good place to live?
The best of Alto’s subject grades are an A+ for schools and health; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. 67% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Alto, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 95 of California’s 1,064 towns score higher on health. Alto has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,024 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Alto grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Alto is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and 195 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Alto. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw8 mi GardenPresidio of San Francisco
3 mi National MonumentMuir Woods National Monument757K visitors a year
Big draw9 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaOracle ParkPhoto credits
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Muir Woods National Monument: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Moving to Alto: who provides what
Alto is unincorporated, so Marin County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Alto.
Residents of Alto are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns
For adults 18 to 64 in Alto, the share who have no health insurance is 3.6%. CDC measures, 32 in all: Alto beats California on 19 and trails on 1. The share of adults in Alto who smoke cigarettes is 8.4%, where California’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 14%. Among adults here, 15% get no exercise outside work and 14% say their health is fair or poor.
| Alto | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 29% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 24% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 22% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Alto | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.6% | 10.6% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.8% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Top of a very high hazard risk in Alto: inland flooding
FEMA puts 48% of Alto’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 41% to earthquakes. On expected storm and flood damage, Alto sits above 83% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Alto stands out in California and nationally: the average trip to work there is shorter
Only 7 of the 848 California towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Alto. The share of residents in Alto who live below the poverty line: 26%. This California town had 54 jobs in 2023, down 20 from 2013. Half of commuters travel less than 10 miles.
| Alto | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 26% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Alto
Colleges nearby
28 within 15 miles of the center of Alto
About 9 of every 100 Alto residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
100% of working residents leave Alto for work
Where Alto’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Alto
Census-designated place in California, United States
Alto (Spanish for "Tall") is a census-designated place adjacent to Mill Valley, California, United States, located in Marin County. It lies at an elevation of 26 feet (8 m). The population was 732 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 26 ft
- Area code
- 415