Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Overall it grades C, 419th among California's 841 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 76% of the country. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $516K for a typical one and 4.9 times the Santa Rosa metro’s $105K median household income. 7.6% of residents are under 18 in Guerneville, below both the California town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). On history, just 33 of California’s 1,063 towns do better.
Where Guerneville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Guerneville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Guerneville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 363 in 1880, 4,552 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1887 and 3 maps from 1947 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Guerneville. Close and well known come first.
14 mi Ancient siteFort Ross
2 mi State parkArmstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
19 mi National SeashorePoint Reyes National Seashore2.4M visitors a year
39 mi LakeClear Lake
17 mi Ancient siteBodega Bay
14 mi MuseumCharles M. Schulz Museum and Research CenterFort Ross: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve: Cromis, CC BY 3.0 · Point Reyes National Seashore: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Clear Lake: Unknown, Public domain · Bodega Bay: Pixistik1687, Public domain · Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center: BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0
Guerneville 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 Guerneville.
Guerneville is a second-home town, has home values still below their peak and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of California.
Since 1995, 86 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Guerneville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guerneville Elementary (Charter)Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 171 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
24.8% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 2.4% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Children under 18 are 8% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 27% of residents (16% statewide). Guerneville’s median age is 51.7 years. 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Guerneville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51.7 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 27% | 16% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 29% | 29% |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.3 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Guerneville | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 2.1% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.8% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.6% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.3% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.8% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 16% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.3% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,100, single groups can be off by several points
30% of adults feel lonely in Guerneville. Guerneville beats the California average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 27% of adults have obesity in Guerneville.
| Guerneville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 29% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 24% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Guerneville | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.7% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
27.3% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Most working residents leave Guerneville for work: only 13% work in town. The average trip to work in Guerneville is 34 minutes. The top destinations are Santa Rosa (13%), San Francisco (6%) and Petaluma (3%).
| Guerneville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $516K, is 18% below its June 2022 peak. At about $516K, home values are down 10% in five years, against a rise of 13% across California.
The typical Guerneville home is worth about $516,000, down 1.8% in a year, 32% below the California typical home.
| Guerneville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,579 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 64% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Graton weather station, 9 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 240 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 78% of California places with climate records.
Guerneville has mild winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 40° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Guerneville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Guerneville River Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
| 2. Riverkeeper Stewardship Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
| 3. J. K. Wright Playground and Courts | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Guerneville; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Guerneville residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
3 places in Guerneville on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Guerneville () is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, Guerneville had a population of 4,552. The town is historically known as a logging community. It was founded by the Guerne family in the 1850s. In the 21st century, Guerneville is also known for its natural environment, liberal atmosphere, and proximity to wine-tasting and redwood forests.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Guerneville grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #419 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
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.
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