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Population sign on Dolan Road
California›Monterey County

ElkhornCA

A town of 1,664.

1 bordering townMap →
Photo: Calbear22 at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Photo of Elkhorn

Elkhorn, CA · Photo: Calbear22 at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Source ↗

Is Elkhorn a good place to live?

Elkhorn’s best subject grades are an A for incomes and the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for walkability. Elkhorn’s July high is 69°F, below both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Only 14 of California’s 1,063 towns score lower on walkability. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. 38% of the land in Elkhorn is conserved, above both the California town median (4.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 82 of California’s 1,063 towns score lower on history. Elkhorn has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.

What makes Elkhorn stand out

Where Elkhorn beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.

A commuter town

100% of working residents leave Elkhorn for work

Where Elkhorn’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

17% → Salinas Salinas 17% 8% → Monterey Monterey 8% 6% → San Jose San Jose 6% 5% → Watsonville Watsonville 5% 5% → Prunedale Prunedale 5% 3% → Santa Cruz Santa Cruz 3% Elkhorn · 0% stay
195jobs based in Elkhorn
0%of working residents work in town
17 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How Elkhorn grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Elkhorn is from typical.

How grading works

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

3 Southern Pacific SD9s and Train at Elkhorn Slough -- 3 Photos
3 Southern Pacific SD9s and Train at Elkhorn Slough -- 3 Photos, 1983
Elkhorn’s story

Elkhorn in pictures

Census counts: 1,458 in 1990, 1,588 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1983 and 6 maps from 1917 on.

Explore the history →
Nearby attractions

Monterey Bay Aquarium and 54 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elkhorn. Close and well known come first.

All 90 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Monterey Bay Aquarium: Meij.kobayashi, Public domain · Monterey Museum of Art: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0 · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pinnacles National Park: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mission San Juan Bautista: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0

Getting set up

Moving to Elkhorn: who provides what

Elkhorn is unincorporated, so Monterey County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterParadise Lake Mutual Water Co.No health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers85% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesMonterey CountyMonterey County provides services here
SchoolsNorth Monterey County Unified School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
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.gov
Who runs elections hereMonterey County ElectionsMonterey County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2025
ZIP codes95012, 93907, 95076, 9503995012 56% · 93907 38% · 95076 4% · 95039 3%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 Elkhorn.

OutdoorsA

Conserved land covers nearly a third of Elkhorn

8.0 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Elkhorn is 1.7 miles per square mile.

37.6%conserved
37.6%
conserved · 1,156 of 3,073 acres
8.0 mi
of trails · 1.7 per sq mi

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

SchoolsC

Public schools in Elkhorn fall behind 71% of California districts

Its public schools are run by the North Monterey County Unified school district. Its one school is below.

29%of CA districts it outscoresCSchool Grade
SchoolLevelStudentsLetter
Elkhorn ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6Grades K–6550–

NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D

Earthquakes leads a very high hazard risk in Elkhorn

Since 1978, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elkhorn.

90risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
90Very high riskLowerHigher
EarthquakesInland flooding
10
paid flood claims since 1978

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Who lives here

More children than California overall

Children under 18 are 35% of residents (22% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (24% statewide). 36% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Elkhorn.

34.8median age · CA 37.9
ElkhornCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Median age34.8 years39 years40.5 years
Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+36%29%29%
Aged 65 or older16%16%18%
ElkhornCaliforniaUnited States

Ages · share of residents

Education · adults 25 and older

No diploma9%
High school25%
Some college15%
Associate’s15%
Bachelor’s25%
Graduate11%

Women and men · all residents

Somewhere between 28% and 74% women

The Census survey reached too few of Elkhorn’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±22.8 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.

Ages and education in Elkhorn
ElkhornCAU.S.
Under 1020.6%11.4%11.6%
10 to 1714.7%10.5%10.3%
18 to 242.9%9.1%9.1%
25 to 3412.1%14.8%13.7%
35 to 4412.1%13.9%13.2%
45 to 5416.3%12.5%12.2%
55 to 645.1%12.1%12.7%
65 to 7412.9%9.2%10.2%
75 and older3.2%6.5%7%
No diploma8.9%15.3%10.4%
High school24.8%20.5%26%
Some college15%19.3%19.1%
Associate’s15.3%7.9%8.8%
Bachelor’s25.1%22.7%21.6%
Graduate10.9%14.4%14.1%

U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,700, single groups can be off by several points

Work & commuteJobs & income grade A

Fewer of Elkhorn’s residents live below the poverty line than in the typical California or U.S. town

2% of Elkhorn residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Elkhorn has added 56 jobs, to 195 in 2023. Elkhorn’s median household income is $127,000.

0%work in town
ElkhornCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work35 minutes28 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$127,000$95,000$80,000
Below the poverty line2%10%9.6%
Working residents who work in town0.5%6.6%8%

Where working residents work

In Elkhorn0%
Salinas17%
Monterey8%
San Jose6%
Watsonville5%
17 mi
median commute distance
195
jobs based in Elkhorn
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Mild winters and pleasant summers in Elkhorn

Elkhorn has warm winters and cool summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 69°, January nights drop to 41° and snow is almost unheard of.

73°summer high

Typical low → high °F

Winter42–62°
Spring46–66°
Summer53–70°
Fall49–70°
Dec 13
typical first frost
Jan 28
typical last frost
+1.9°
vs. the 20th-century average
73°
typical summer high

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

HealthB

Elkhorn ranks healthier than 56% of the country’s towns

Elkhorn beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.

56%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
ElkhornCalifornia townsU.S. towns
No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES)13%9%8.1%
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)32%35%36%
Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES)73%72%79%
Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES)24%22%19%
32 measures vs. California
1 better26 too close to call5 worse
What stands outElkhornCA
More adults screened for colon cancer65.1%57.5%
More adults with COPD6.5%5.1%
Watsonville Community Hospital
9.1 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: dental, mental health

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

$1.23Mmedian sale price
1
homes sold in March

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Elkhorn

17pages on Elkhorn
After high school

Colleges nearby

3 within 15 miles of the center of Elkhorn

About Elkhorn

Census-designated place in California, United States

Elkhorn is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. Elkhorn was originally a stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad 4 miles (6 km) north of Castroville, at an elevation of 10 feet (3.0 m). The settled part of the community now occupies the hills to the east of the railroad. The population of the Elkhorn CDP was 1,588 at the 2020 census. Local understandings of the extent of Elkhorn may vary from the Census definition. Elkhorn was named after the elk in the area that have since gone extinct.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
4.8 sq mi
Elevation
10 ft
Area code
831

Elkhorn’s neighbors

One town shares a border with Elkhorn.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownCA rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Elkhorn——D—CB
Prunedale#722D−D—C+B−

Elkhorn has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Elkhorn and Prunedale report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Elkhorn with a neighbor →

Questions about Elkhorn

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Elkhorn, CA expensive?

Yes. The typical home is worth about $811,000, 7% above the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.