Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,078, settled in 1871.
The best of Glen Ellen’s subject grades are an A+ for walkability and the outdoors and an A for health; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 73% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Glen Ellen, above both the California town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). On hazard risk, just 43 of California’s 1,064 towns do worse. 45% of the land in Glen Ellen is conserved, where California’s towns sit at 4.3% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 49 of California’s 1,064 towns score higher on the outdoors. Glen Ellen has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Jack London Ranch and Hotel Chauvet. Glen Ellen has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Glen Ellen beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Glen Ellen is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2016.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Glen Ellen. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw39 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw39 mi GardenPresidio of San Francisco
31 mi National MonumentMuir Woods National Monument757K visitors a year
40 mi Ancient siteFort Ross
22 mi LakeLake BerryessaAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Muir Woods National Monument: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Ross: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Berryessa: Unknown, Public domain
Glen Ellen is unincorporated, so Sonoma 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 Glen Ellen.
6.9 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Glen Ellen’s trail density is 3.3 miles per square mile. Jack London State Historic Park, at 593 acres with 6.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jack London State Historic Park | 6.7 mi | 593 |
| 2. Sonoma Valley Regional Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The FEMA risk score in Glen Ellen is 100 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
26% of Glen Ellen adults feel lonely. Glen Ellen beats the California average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 12% of Glen Ellen adults report frequent mental distress.
| Glen Ellen | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 36% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| What stands out | Glen Ellen | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.6% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.5% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Glen Ellen home is worth about $1,201,000, up 0.8% in a year, 58% above the California typical home.
| Glen Ellen | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,582 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 64% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Glen Ellen has warm winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 41° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Glen Ellen for work: only 4% work in town. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Glen Ellen. Jobs based in Glen Ellen fell to 237 in 2023, 269 fewer than in 2013.
| Glen Ellen | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 26% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Glen Ellen
About 4 of every 100 Glen Ellen residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
3 places in Glen Ellen on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census designated place in California, United States
Glen Ellen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 714 at the 2020 census, down from 784 at the 2010 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Park (including the Wolf House), Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and a former home of Hunter S. Thompson. The whole of Glen Ellen was severely damaged by the Nuns Fire during the October 2017 Northern California wildfires.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 11.5 years of the area's median household income ($104,674 across the Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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