Untitled, 2011
Pollock Pines’s story
90 years in pictures
Census counts: 1,941 in 1980, 7,112 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
- 1936Pollock Pines is settled
Pollock PinesCA
A town of 6,212, settled in 1936. Public schools that outperform most of California.
1 bordering townMap →
Photo: UncleVinny · CC BY 3.0
Population
6,212
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$389K
−0.6% in a year
Household income
$75K
median
Median age
40.8
years
Jobs based here
565
A commuter town
TownGrade
C−
#455 of 841 in CA
Is Pollock Pines a good place to live?
Pollock Pines grades C− overall, 455th of 841 graded towns in California, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 77% of U.S. communities, with avalanches at the top. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 73% of California towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $75K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $389K, 4 years of the Sacramento metro’s $97K median household income. On cost of living, just 101 of California’s 1,058 towns do better. Pollock Pines’ concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile, where California’s towns sit at 1.0 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
What makes Pollock Pines stand out
Where Pollock Pines beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
A commuter town
94% of working residents leave Pollock Pines for work
Where Pollock Pines’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
565jobs based in Pollock Pines
6%of working residents work in town
37 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Pollock Pines grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Pollock Pines is from typical.
Hazard riskavalanches tops the listDOpen →Jobs & income565 jobs based hereC−Open →SchoolsB+Open →Cost of livingC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 9.1 of 20; 7.3% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →HealthMarshall Medical Center 11 miles awayC+Open →
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.
Climate–Open →Housing market21 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 40.8; 21% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Pollock Pines: who provides what
Pollock Pines is unincorporated, so El Dorado County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterEl Dorado Id - Main water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers95% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesEl Dorado CountyEl Dorado County provides services here
SchoolsEl Dorado Union High School DistrictPollock Pines Elementary School District2 districts serve Pollock Pines; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
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.govWho runs elections hereEl Dorado Registrar of VotersEl Dorado County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Mar 2024
ZIP codes95726, 9570995726 84% · 95709 16%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 Pollock Pines.
Pollock Pines has home values still below their peak, sends most of its workers to Placerville and beyond and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of California.
HousingCost of living grade C+
For cost of living, Pollock Pines earns a C+
The typical value, about $389K, is 9% below its June 2022 peak.
Homes sold in Pollock Pines spent a median 21 days on the market. The midpoint rent for Pollock Pines comes to $1,281 a month, below the California town median ($1,898 a month) but above the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). A typical home in the town is worth about $389,000, down 0.6% in a year, 49% below the California typical home.
$389KZillow home value
Typical home value
Pollock Pines$389K
California$762K
Market temperature
21
days on market
99.3%
sale-to-list price
−0.6%
value change, 1 year
8
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
SchoolsB+
For schools, Pollock Pines earns a B+
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Pollock Pines Elementary school district. The 2 public schools in Pollock Pines teach 586 students between them.
73%of CA districts it outscoresB+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinewood ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 339 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Few of Pollock Pines’ working residents work in town
Pollock Pines has 565 jobs for its 2,685 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
In Pollock Pines, the average commute is 32 minutes. For most workers, Pollock Pines is a place to come home to: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Placerville (13%), Sacramento (9%) and Diamond Springs (7%). Half commute less than 37 miles.
6%work in town
| Pollock Pines | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.7% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Pollock Pines6%
Placerville13%
Sacramento9%
Diamond Springs7%
Rancho Cordova3%
37 mi
median commute distance
565
jobs based in Pollock Pines
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Natural hazards: high risk in Pollock Pines, mostly avalanches
FEMA puts just over two fifths of Pollock Pines’s expected hazard losses down to avalanches, and 35% to wildfires. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2005.
77risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
AvalanchesWildfireInland flooding
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Snowy winters and hot summers: that is Pollock Pines’ year
January nights average 35.7°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 79% of California places with climate records; July afternoons average 88.8°.
About 58 inches of snow falls in a winter. For Pollock Pines, the January low is 36°F.
58″snow a winter
| Pollock Pines | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 36°F | 41°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 89°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
Winter36–52°
Spring42–64°
Summer59–86°
Fall48–71°
Nov 2
typical first frost
Apr 26
typical last frost
+0.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthC+
Residents of Pollock Pines are less healthy than 59% of U.S. towns
Pollock Pines beats the California average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. The share of adults in Pollock Pines who report frequent physical distress: 16%. A quarter of adults in the town have been diagnosed with depression; 74% had a checkup this year.
41%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Pollock Pines | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 22% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
32 measures vs. California
5 better16 too close to call11 worse
| What stands out | Pollock Pines | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.1% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 12.5% | 14.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 5.1% |
Marshall Medical Center
11 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
30th
percentile among CA towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
#669for trails in CA
6.2%
conserved · 340 of 5,509 acres
1.0 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Pollock Pines
17pages on Pollock Pines
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Pollock Pines; the nearest are
Folsom Lake CollegeCommunity college · Public · Folsom29.7 mi$1,288 in-state tuitionCalifornia State University-SacramentoUniversity or college · Public · Sacramento47 mi$8,018 in-state tuition
About 7 of every 100 Pollock Pines residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
About Pollock Pines
Census-designated place in California, United States
Pollock Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. Pollock Pines lies at an elevation of 3,980 feet (1,210 m) in the Sierra Nevada. The population was 7,112 at the 2020 census, up from 6,871 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,980 ft
- ZIP code
- 95726
- Area code
- 530
Pollock Pines’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Pollock Pines.
How the neighbors grade
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pollock Pines | #455 | C− | C+ | — | B+ | C+ |
| Camino | — | — | D | — | A− | B+ |
Camino has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pollock Pines and Camino report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pollock Pines with a neighbor →
Questions about Pollock Pines
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Pollock Pines, CA a good place to live?
Pollock Pines grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #455 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Pollock Pines, CA expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.