Fairbanks RanchCA
2,703 residents make their home in this town in California.
Is Fairbanks Ranch a good place to live?
Plenty to like here, at a price. Where it does best is health (A+): it is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns. Schools are another plus: its schools outperform 96% of the state's. What holds it back is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $2.0 million, 18.8 years of the San Diego metro’s $106K median household income. It lags on hazard risk as well: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 43% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. The overall grade comes out at A−, better than 77% of U.S. towns. That places it 54th of 841 in California. The biggest park or preserve is Lusardi Creek Preserve, at 47 acres.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap.
What makes Fairbanks Ranch stand out
Where Fairbanks Ranch beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Fairbanks Ranch | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.9% | 10.6% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Solana Santa Fe Elementary | K–6 | 334 |
| The Nativity School | PK–8 | 208 |
| Diegueno Country School | K–6 | 147 |
How Fairbanks Ranch grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Fairbanks Ranch is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Mexico–United States border wall and 66 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairbanks Ranch. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi LandmarkMexico–United States border wall
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaSnapdragon Stadium
20 mi Stadium & arenaPetco Park
18 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo4.0M visitors a year
16 mi Theme parkSeaWorld San Diego4.0M visitors a year
8 mi BeachBlack's BeachPhoto credits
Mexico–United States border wall: Földhegy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Snapdragon Stadium: Terrible Tim, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Petco Park: Mds08011, CC BY 4.0 · San Diego Zoo: en:User:Cburnett, CC BY-SA 3.0 · SeaWorld San Diego: ZooFari, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Black's Beach: Levi Clancy, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Moving to Fairbanks Ranch: who provides what
Fairbanks Ranch is unincorporated, so San Diego 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fairbanks Ranch.
Fairbanks Ranch carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of California (mostly inland flooding), has schools in the top 5% of California and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
Compared with most of California and the rest of the country, fewer of Fairbanks Ranch’s adults report frequent mental distress
Against the 436 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fairbanks Ranch’s, it is healthier than 52%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
80% of adults had a checkup this year in Fairbanks Ranch. The share of adults in Fairbanks Ranch who feel lonely is 30%, below both the California town median (36%) and the median of U.S. towns (33%). Among 847 California towns, just 10 have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Fairbanks Ranch. Two figures for adults locally: 21% have obesity, 5.9% smoke cigarettes.
| Fairbanks Ranch | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 29% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Fairbanks Ranch | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.9% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.4% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.2% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fairbanks Ranch’s grade for schools is an A+
That grade ranks #26 of the 847 California towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $2M.
Below: Two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. Public schools: the Solana Beach Elementary school district. Fairbanks Ranch’s only public school teaches 334 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solana Santa Fe ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 334 | – |
| Horizon Prep PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 379 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
nearly a quarter of the land in Fairbanks Ranch is protected from building
Walkers can cover 6.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The concentration of trails in Fairbanks Ranch is 1.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 2, covering 62 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lusardi Creek Preserve | 0.4 mi | 47 |
| 2. Fairbanks Park | 0.4 mi | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The climate in Fairbanks Ranch brings mild winters and pleasant summers
January nights average 45.5°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 78.3°.
Snow is almost unheard of. For Fairbanks Ranch, the typical July afternoon high is 78°F. In Fairbanks Ranch, the January low is 46°F, against 40°F in California’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns.
| Fairbanks Ranch | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 46°F | 40°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median household income in Fairbanks Ranch is higher than in the typical California or U.S. town
For Fairbanks Ranch, the average trip to work is 31 minutes. Since 2013, Fairbanks Ranch has added 1,063 jobs, to 1,326 in 2023. The share of residents in Fairbanks Ranch who live below the poverty line: 5.5%. Most people who work leave Fairbanks Ranch to do it: just 2% work in town.
| Fairbanks Ranch | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $250,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest natural risk in Fairbanks Ranch is inland flooding, at a moderate overall level
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of California towns, with expected losses of about $1,021 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Fairbanks Ranch break down as 62% from inland flooding and 31% from earthquakes. Since 2023, one flood insurance claim has been paid locally. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Fairbanks Ranch once, in 2020.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A home in Fairbanks Ranch sells for about $5.05M at the median
At 18.8 years of the San Diego metro’s $106K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 96% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
On the market in Fairbanks Ranch: a median 74 days to sell. Fairbanks Ranch: 92% of households are owner-occupiers. Homes in Fairbanks Ranch sold for 96.8% of their list price on average.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Fairbanks Ranch
Colleges nearby
14 within 15 miles of the center of Fairbanks Ranch
About 4 of every 100 Fairbanks Ranch residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Fairbanks Ranch
Place in California, United States
Fairbanks Ranch is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,002 at the 2020 census, down from 3,148 at the 2010 census. The entire population is contained within two gated communities, divided into North and South sections by the formerly private San Dieguito Road. The Fairbanks Ranch community borders Rancho Santa Fe to the northwest, the Rancho Santa Fe Farms gated community to the south and the Del Sur housing development of Black Mountain Ranch to the east. The San Dieguito River and Lusardi Creek with the Lusardi Creek County Preserve lie to the north.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.1 sq mi
- Area code
- 858
Fairbanks Ranch’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Fairbanks Ranch.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks Ranch | #54 | A− | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Rancho Santa Fe | — | — | D− | — | A | A+ |
| San Diego | #249 | C+ | D− | C− | B+ | A |
Rancho Santa Fe has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fairbanks Ranch with a neighbor →
Questions about Fairbanks Ranch
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fairbanks Ranch, CA a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fairbanks Ranch grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #54 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Fairbanks Ranch, CA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $2,000,000, 163% 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−.