Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Where it falls short is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $770K, 7.9 years of the San Luis Obispo metro’s $97K median household income. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): it is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. Overall, that makes a C−, good for 533rd of 841 in California. On that grade it does better than 16% of U.S. towns. El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bank of Italy and Brewster-Dutra House. 29% of working residents work locally here, where California’s towns sit at 6.6% and U.S. towns at 8%. The town’s trail network density is 1.8 miles per square mile, above both the California town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places · Census LEHD, 2023 · OpenStreetMap.
Where El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 827 in 1890, 31,490 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1893 and 3 maps from 1919 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), 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 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles).
El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) trades workers with San Luis Obispo and other neighbors and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of California.
The biggest park or preserve is California Mid-State Fair Grounds, at 35 acres. Count the trails in 12 parks and preserves and they come to 36 miles. Parks and preserves in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles): 12, covering 176 acres.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.8 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Barney Schwartz Park | 1.3 mi | 34 |
| 2. Lawrence Moore Park | 0.6 mi | 31 |
| 3. City Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Below: Two of its 16 schools, each with why it was picked. Its public schools are run by the Paso Robles Joint Unified school district. The 6 public schools in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) teach 3,092 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Flamson Junior HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 884 | – |
| Paso Robles HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,986 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
On expected storm and flood damage, El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) sits above 84% of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 7 claims here since 1995. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 47% come from inland flooding and 44% from earthquakes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s property offense rate comes in at 15.4 per 1,000 residents. Within California, it does better than 46% of towns.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Paso Robles weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 238 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 79% of California places with climate records. January nights average 36.1°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 78% of California places with climate records; July afternoons average 90.7°.
Snowfall is close to zero. The January low for El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) comes to 36°F.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 91°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) has about as many jobs (12,319) as working residents, but only 3,618 people both live and work here.
The top destinations are San Luis Obispo (9%), Atascadero (8%) and Templeton (7%). Roughly one working resident in three has a job in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) itself. Jobs based in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) grew to 12,319 in 2023, 2,383 more than in 2013. Among residents locally, 13% live below the poverty line.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For adults in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), the share who have obesity is 29%. Of 32 CDC measures, El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) beats the California average on 1 and trails it on 5.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 72% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 29% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 62.6% | 57.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.3% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), 21% of residents are 65 or older. California has 37% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 30%. The town’s age of the median resident is 38.7 years.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 38.7 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.9 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.5, men 36.3.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.9% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.6% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.5% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.8% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.2% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.5% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
On the market in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles): a median 57 days to sell. Typical home values rose 1.9% in the year to September 2026. Also worth knowing: the midpoint rent locally is $1,981 a month.
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,981 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles). Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi State parkHearst Castle
9 mi MuseumMission San Miguel Arcángel21 mi LandmarkLanding of the first Filipinos
40 mi LandmarkFort Hunter Liggett
24 mi MuseumMission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
28 mi State parkMontaña de Oro State ParkHearst Castle: No machine-readable author provided. Urban~commonswiki assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mission San Miguel Arcángel: Jsweida, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Hunter Liggett: Binksternet, Public domain · Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa: Stephen Lea, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Montaña de Oro State Park: BorisFromStockdale, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles); the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 places in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles).
City in California, United States
Paso Robles, officially El Paso de Robles, is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its population was 31,490 at the 2020 census. The city lies along the Salinas River on California's Central Coast. According to anthropologists Randall Milliken and John R. Johnson, Northern Chumash communities inhabited the area at Spanish contact, and Salinan communities later lived in the upper Salinas corridor. Spanish missions displaced residents of the region's villages. The modern town developed around mineral springs and the railroad and incorporated in 1889. Agriculture, military activity at nearby Camp Roberts, and later suburban growth contributed to its expansion. Paso Robl…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles).
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | #533 | C− | D− | C | B− | B |
| Templeton | #190 | B− | D− | — | A− | A |
Templeton reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #533 of 841 in California. It grades B for health, C for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 46% of towns.
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−.
8 notable people were born here, including Elena Verdugo and Christine Clayburg.
