Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,579.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Overall it grades C, 340th of 841 graded towns in California. Residents are healthier than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it has 22 miles of trail and 41% conserved land. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.3 million, 11.5 years of the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income. 35% of residents are 65 or older in Day Valley, against 16% in California’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Valencia Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Day Valley beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Day Valley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Day Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,842 in 1990, 3,410 in 2020. The archive holds 5 maps from 1919 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Day Valley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw26 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
21 mi Stadium & arenaSAP Center
28 mi Zoo & aquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium
10 mi Theme parkSanta Cruz Beach Boardwalk
30 mi MuseumMonterey Museum of ArtLevi'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 · Monterey Bay Aquarium: Meij.kobayashi, Public domain · Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: Josta Photo, CC BY 2.0 · Monterey Museum of Art: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0
Day Valley 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 Day Valley.
Day Valley has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and keeps more of its land conserved than most of California, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
Its 4,858 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 97% of California towns.
23 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Day Valley’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park | 11.1 mi | 4,096 |
| 2. Valencia Hall Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 2,452 U.S. towns with household incomes like Day Valley’s, it is less healthy than 51%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
29% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Day Valley. Day Valley beats the California average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 24% of adults have obesity in Day Valley.
| Day Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 24% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Day Valley | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 17.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.3% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1982, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Day Valley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Day Valley has 273 jobs for its 1,287 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Day Valley for work: only 1% work in town. The median household income in Day Valley is $155,000. Since 2013, Day Valley has added 158 jobs, to 273 in 2023.
| Day Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $155,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Santa Cruz weather station, 8 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 323 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 78.1°, cooler than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 40.1°.
Day Valley has warm winters and pleasant summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Day Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 40°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 11.5 years of the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 84% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
84% of Day Valley households own their home.
| Day Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,669 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Day Valley
About 7 of every 100 Day Valley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Day Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 3,410 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Day Valley.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day Valley | #340 | C | C− | — | C | A |
| Aptos | #260 | C+ | D | — | C | A |
| Corralitos | — | — | D− | — | C | A− |
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | — | — | D− | — | C | A− |
| Watsonville | #720 | D− | D | C | C | C |
Corralitos and Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Day Valley, Aptos, Corralitos and Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Day Valley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Day Valley grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #340 of 841 in California. It grades A for health and C 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 C−.
