Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 59,688, settled in 1852.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Overall it grades B−, 181st of 841 graded towns in California. It is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns and it has 22 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $896K for a typical one and 8.6 times the Santa Rosa metro’s $105K median household income. Petaluma’s median rent is $2,440 a month, against $1,895 a month in California’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. Petaluma is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. Petaluma has 9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Petaluma Adobe and US Post Office-Petaluma.
Where Petaluma beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Petaluma Adobe is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 3,326 in 1880, 59,776 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 5 maps from 1914 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Petaluma is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 2%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Petaluma. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw33 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw32 mi GardenPresidio of San Francisco
Big draw37 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaOracle ParkAlcatraz 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 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Petaluma, and how to reach them.
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 Petaluma.
Petaluma trades workers with Santa Rosa and other neighbors and has less food insecurity than most of California, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
366 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 35 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1980, 366 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Petaluma.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Petaluma Joint Union High school district. Three of its 33 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenilworth Junior HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 812 | B+ |
| Casa Grande HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,653 | B+ |
| Petaluma Accelerated CharterTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 115 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Petaluma’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Shollenberger Park, 232 acres with 2.2 miles of trail.
| Petaluma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 18% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shollenberger Park | 2.2 mi | 232 |
| 2. Lucchesi Park | 0.6 mi | 35 |
| 3. Helen Putnam Regional Park | 0.4 mi | 45 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with California is food insecurity: 10.6% of its 47,559 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.9% statewide.
25% of adults have obesity in Petaluma. Petaluma beats the California average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 31% of adults feel lonely in Petaluma.
| Petaluma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 29% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 24% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Petaluma | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.6% | 17.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.7% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Petaluma has mild winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Petaluma is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Petaluma home is worth about $896,000, up 1.3% in a year, 18% above the California typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Petaluma has about as many jobs (28,123) as working residents, but only 5,602 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Petaluma’s working residents works in town. 21% of Petaluma workers work from home. Jobs based in Petaluma grew to 28,123 in 2023, 6,157 more than in 2013.
| Petaluma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 21% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $115,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 22% of residents (16% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (24% statewide). 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Petaluma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.3 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 16% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.2 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 47.0, men 44.2.
| Petaluma | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.2% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.5% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Within California, it does better than 71% of towns.
| Petaluma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Petaluma
About 5 of every 100 Petaluma residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
18% of the town is conserved land, across 33 parks and preserves.
9 places in Petaluma on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Petaluma.
City in California, United States
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village named Péta Lúuma that was located on the banks of the Petaluma River. The modern city originates in Rancho Petaluma, granted in 1834 to famed Californio statesman Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, considered to be the founder of Petaluma. Today, Petaluma is known for its well-preserved historic center and as a local hub for the Petaluma Valley region of Sonoma County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Petaluma grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #181 of 841 in California. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 71% of towns.
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−.
35 notable people were born here, including Pauline Kael and Nicole Mann.
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