RainbowCA
A town of 2,029, settled in 1889.
Is Rainbow a good place to live?
The best of Rainbow’s subject grades are an A− for health and incomes; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. The biggest park or preserve is Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, at 42 acres. Rainbow has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Rainbow stand out
Where Rainbow beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
How Rainbow grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Rainbow is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Rainbow: who provides what
Rainbow 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 Rainbow.
Rainbow stands out in California and nationally, with the FEMA risk score higher than most
Of the losses FEMA expects in Rainbow, 80% come from wildfires and 13% from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Rainbow once, in 2024. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 100% of U.S. communities.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Public schools in Rainbow beat 63% of California districts
Its one school is below. Rainbow’s only public school teaches 195 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallecitos ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 195 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
On CDC estimates, Rainbow is healthier than 84% of U.S. towns
The share of adults in Rainbow who get no exercise outside work is 20%, where California’s towns sit at 24% and U.S. towns at 25%. CDC measures, 32 in all: Rainbow beats California on 14 and trails on 3. In Rainbow, 15% of adults report frequent mental distress.
| Rainbow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 29% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Rainbow | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.9% | 17.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.2% | 7.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expect mild winters and hot summers in Rainbow
July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 44° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A older population than California as a whole
Rainbow’s median age stands at 43.7 years. People 65 and older are 23% of residents (16% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (24% statewide). A bachelor’s degree or higher: just over a third of adults 25 and older, vs 37% across California.
| Rainbow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 43.7 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.6 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Rainbow | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.8% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.1% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.6% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.2% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 17.6% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.1% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.7% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.4% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.7% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
A job hub: Rainbow has 1.3 jobs for every working resident and draws in 1,061 commuters
For most workers, Rainbow is a place to come home to: only 4% work in town. The share of residents in Rainbow who live below the poverty line is 7.7%, against 10% in California’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Also worth knowing: the town’s typical journey to work comes in at 33 minutes. The top destinations are San Diego (17%), Escondido (5%) and Carlsbad (5%).
| Rainbow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 10% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Open space protected for good: 1.2% of Rainbow
Walkers can cover 3.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. In Rainbow, the density of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Rainbow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve | — | 42 |
| 2. Rainbow Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Rainbow sell for about $1.02M
85% of Rainbow households own their home. For Rainbow, the typical rent is $2,085 a month.
| Rainbow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,085 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Legoland California and 35 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rainbow. Close and well known come first.
22 mi Theme parkLegoland California
23 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo Safari Park
36 mi BeachBlack's Beach
39 mi MountainSan Jacinto Peak
21 mi National forestCleveland National Forest
25 mi MuseumOrange Empire Railway MuseumPhoto credits
Legoland California: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigger/, CC BY 2.0 · San Diego Zoo Safari Park: Flickr user: Olivier Bruchez https://www.flickr.com/photos/bruchez/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Black's Beach: Levi Clancy, CC BY-SA 4.0 · San Jacinto Peak: Wattewyl, CC BY 3.0 · Cleveland National Forest: Michael Romanov, Public domain · Orange Empire Railway Museum: The original uploader was Pretzelpaws at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Rainbow
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rainbow
About 4 of every 100 Rainbow residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Questions about Rainbow
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Rainbow, CA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $841,000, 10% 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−.