Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town settled in 1872, now home to 4,632 people.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. The weak point is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Boulder Creek’s overall grade of C+ puts it better than 44% of U.S. towns, 251st of 841 in California. It lags on cost of living as well (D): the typical home is worth about $737K, 6.6 years of the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income. On health it is strong — residents are healthier than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Walkability is a strength too (A): it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. The town’s trail density is 3.4 miles per square mile, above both California’s towns (1.0) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 52 of California’s 1,063 towns score higher on history.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Boulder Creek beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
4,923 counted in 2010 and 5,429 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Boulder Creek is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 88% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 1%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 489 in 1890, 5,429 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2025 and a map from 1943 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Boulder Creek. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw20 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
19 mi Stadium & arenaSAP Center
39 mi Park & preserveOyster Point Marina/Park
25 mi MuseumFiloli
20 mi MuseumComputer History MuseumLevi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oyster Point Marina/Park: Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0 · Filoli: Sukuru, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Computer History Museum: Dzou, CC BY-SA 3.0
Boulder Creek is unincorporated, so Santa Cruz 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Boulder Creek.
Boulder Creek has less no health insurance than most of California, has home values still below their peak and sends most of its workers to San Jose and beyond.
Count the trails in 2 parks and preserves and they come to 25 miles.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Garrahan Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Junction Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its one school is below. Boulder Creek’s only public school teaches 416 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder Creek ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 416 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Of the losses FEMA expects in Boulder Creek, 64% come from inland flooding and 29% from earthquakes. Since 1982, Boulder Creek has seen 34 flood insurance claims paid out. Federal aid has come to Boulder Creek households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide.
For adults in Boulder Creek, the share who binge drink is 19%. This California town does better than the California average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 3.
| Boulder Creek | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 24% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 29% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Boulder Creek | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.3% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.1% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The midpoint age in Boulder Creek is 47.9 years. People 65 and older are 30% of residents (16% statewide); children under 18 are 11% of residents (22% statewide). Among adults 25 and older in the town, 40% hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Boulder Creek | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 11% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 47.9 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 29% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.4 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 90% are women (CA 49%).
| Boulder Creek | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.3% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.4% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.4% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.9% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.7% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 16.2% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 32.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.6% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.2% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
Boulder Creek has 562 jobs for its 2,154 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 37.4 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Boulder Creek’s average commute is 37 minutes. Half commute less than 19 miles. In Boulder Creek, 7.1% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are San Jose (12%), Santa Cruz (8%) and Santa Clara (4%).
| Boulder Creek | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $84,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 39°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $737K, is 10% below its June 2022 peak. 78.7% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 55.3% across California.
On the market in Boulder Creek: a median 38 days to sell. The typical home value here is about $737,000, up 1.3% in a year, close to the California typical home. Also worth knowing: the rent at the middle of the market for Boulder Creek comes to $1,907 a month.
| Boulder Creek | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,907 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5 within 15 miles of the center of Boulder Creek
About 7 of every 100 Boulder Creek residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Boulder Creek’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in California, United States
Boulder Creek () is an unincorporated place in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains. It is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, with a population of 5,429 as of the 2020 census. Throughout its history, Boulder Creek has been home to a logging town and a resort community, as well as a counter-culture haven. Today, it is identified as the gateway to Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Boulder Creek.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder Creek | #251 | C+ | D | — | B+ | A |
| Brookdale | — | — | D | — | B+ | A |
Brookdale has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Boulder Creek and Brookdale report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Boulder Creek with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Boulder Creek grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #251 of 841 in California. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
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.
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