Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Overall it grades B−, 189th among California's 841 graded towns. The median household earns $85K and it is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. Calistoga’s typical home value is $1,066,000, against $709,000 in California’s towns and $332,000 across U.S. towns. Calistoga has 9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Napa Valley Railroad Depot and James H. Francis House.
Where Calistoga beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Napa Valley Railroad Depot
Census counts: 407 in 1880, 5,228 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 5 maps from 1927 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Calistoga is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 91% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 1%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Calistoga. Close and well known come first.
36 mi Ancient siteFort Ross
19 mi LakeLake Berryessa
36 mi Theme parkSix Flags Discovery Kingdom
36 mi LakeClear Lake
12 mi MuseumCharles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center
32 mi National SeashorePoint Reyes National Seashore2.4M visitors a yearFort Ross: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Berryessa: Unknown, Public domain · Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Tinned Elk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Clear Lake: Unknown, Public domain · Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center: BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Point Reyes National Seashore: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Calistoga, and how to reach them.
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 Calistoga.
Calistoga trades workers with St. Helena and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
Calistoga’s FEMA risk score is 100 of 100. Since 1993, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Calistoga.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Calistoga Joint Unified school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Calistoga Junior/Senior High, with 355 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calistoga ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 405 | – |
| Calistoga Junior/Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 355 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
At 9.6 years of the Napa metro’s $111K median household income, the typical home (about $1.07M) costs more against local pay than in 75% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living. The typical value, about $1.07M, is 12% below its May 2022 peak.
50% of households own their home in Calistoga. The typical Calistoga home is worth about $1,066,000, about the same as a year ago, 40% above the California typical home. The median rent in Calistoga is $1,767 a month.
| Calistoga | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,767 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (16% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (24% statewide). Calistoga has lost 5.3% of its people since 2020, down to 4,954 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Calistoga | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.7 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 16% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.2 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Calistoga | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 3.8% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.3% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 18.3% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.5% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 26.8% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 14.1% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.5% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.8% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 5,000, single groups can be off by several points
Calistoga has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 38° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Calistoga has about as many jobs (2,057) as working residents, but only 591 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Calistoga’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Calistoga grew to 2,057 in 2023, 409 more than in 2013. 5.6% of Calistoga residents live below the poverty line.
| Calistoga | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $85,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Calistoga beats the California average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4.
| Calistoga | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Calistoga | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 64.1% | 57.5% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 67.6% | 62.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Within California, it does better than 73% of towns.
| Calistoga | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Calistoga | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Logvy Community Park | — | 4 |
| 2. Pioneer Park | 0.1 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Calistoga
About 5 of every 100 Calistoga residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
9 places in Calistoga on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in California, United States
Calistoga is a city in Napa County, California, United States. Located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the city had a population of 5,228 as of the 2020 census. Calistoga was founded in 1868 when the California Pacific Railroad was built, establishing the town as a tourist destination for its Calistoga Hot Springs. Today, Calistoga continues as a popular tourist destination in Wine Country, owing to its vineyards and historic landmarks.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Calistoga grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #189 of 841 in California. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 73% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
.jpg){kind=link}
_01.JPG){kind=link}
