Hetch Hetchy Railroad Engine No.6 · National Register of Historic Places
El Portal’s story
119 years in pictures
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1907El Portal is settled
El PortalCA
El Portal Old Schoolhouse · Photo: John Joseph Crane · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
505
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$248K
Census ACS
Household income
$56K
median
Median age
37.0
years
Jobs based here
136
A commuter town
Is El Portal a good place to live?
69% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in El Portal, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Merced Grove Ranger Station and El Portal Old Schoolhouse. El Portal has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes El Portal stand out
Where El Portal beats most towns.
Small town
505 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby attractions
All 37 attractions →Yosemite National Park and 24 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around El Portal. Close and well known come first.
Big draw2 mi National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year
Big draw15 mi MountainHalf Dome
19 mi LakeHetch Hetchy
12 mi WaterfallYosemite Falls
38 mi National MonumentDevils Postpile National Monument100K visitors a year
10 mi AttractionTaft PointSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Yosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Half Dome: Jon Sullivan, Public domain · Hetch Hetchy: Vulpinus2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yosemite Falls: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Devils Postpile National Monument: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Taft Point: Dave from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0
Getting set up
Moving to El Portal: who provides what
El Portal is unincorporated, so Mariposa County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & county servicesMariposa CountyMariposa County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereMariposa County Elections DepartmentMariposa County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2025
ZIP code9531895318 100%Census 2020
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 El Portal.
Natural hazards
Very high risk in El Portal, with inland flooding at the top
Of the losses FEMA expects in El Portal, 59% come from inland flooding and 27% from wildfires. Compared with 99% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is higher. One declared disaster, in 2023, has brought federal aid to El Portal households.
99risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingWildfireHeat waves
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yosemite National Park El PortalLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 46 | B− |
| Yosemite Park HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2 | – |
NCES · EDFacts
Work & commute
El Portal has 0.5 jobs per working resident, so most workers leave town for work
El Portal’s typical journey to work comes in at 17 minutes. The top destinations are Yosemite Valley (20%), San Jose (5%) and Sacramento (4%). For residents locally, the share who live below the poverty line is 4.6%. Half of commuters travel less than 104 miles.
1%work in town
| El Portal | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In El Portal1%
Yosemite Valley20%
San Jose5%
Sacramento4%
San Francisco3%
104 mi
median commute distance
136
jobs based in El Portal
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
108″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter32–52°
Spring39–63°
Summer56–86°
Fall45–71°
Oct 27
typical first frost
Apr 21
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
A larger share of adults binge drink in El Portal than in most of California or the rest of the country
El Portal: 22% of adults get no exercise outside work. Against the California average, El Portal comes out ahead on 3 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 7.
| El Portal | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 23% |
32 measures vs. California
3 better22 too close to call7 worse
| What stands out | El Portal | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6% | 10.6% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.3% | 10.6% |
| More smokers | 15.5% | 10.9% |
John C Fremont Healthcare District
15.7 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Outdoors
Conserved land covers 7.9% of El Portal
There are 1.3 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve. The trail network density for El Portal comes to 0.7 miles per square mile. One park or preserve covers 3 acres locally.
7.9%conserved
| El Portal | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
7.9%
conserved · 96 of 1,215 acres
1.3 mi
of trails · 0.7 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Yosemite National Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about El Portal
17pages on El Portal
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of El Portal; the nearest are
University of California-MercedUniversity or college · Public · Merced40.9 mi$15,623 in-state tuitionColumbia CollegeCommunity college · Public · Sonora41 mi$1,282 in-state tuition
About 7 of every 100 El Portal residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave El Portal for work
Where El Portal’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
136jobs based in El Portal
1%of working residents work in town
104 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
Landmarks
5 places in El Portal on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Questions about El Portal
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is El Portal, CA a good place to live?
El Portal has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.