Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 87,554, settled in 1955.
Rancho Cordova grades C+ overall, ranked 314th of 841 in California, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns and it has 28 miles of trail. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $529K, 5.4 years of the Sacramento metro’s $97K median household income. On hazard risk, just 14 of California’s 1,064 towns do better. Rancho Cordova’s July high is 95°F, where California’s towns sit at 89°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Rancho Cordova is home to Chamberlain University-California.
Where Rancho Cordova beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Elementary | K–6 | 1,235 |
| Robert J. McGarvey Elementary | K–6 | 840 |
| Abraham Lincoln Elementary | K–6 | 498 |
64,776 counted in 2010 and 79,332 in 2020; an estimated 87,554 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 10.4% since 2020, after 22.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Rancho Cordova is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,429 in 1960, 79,332 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1882 and 7 maps from 1902 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rancho Cordova. Close and well known come first.
13 mi State parkSutter's Fort
16 mi Stadium & arenaARCO Arena
10 mi Stadium & arenaHornet Stadium
13 mi State parkGovernor's Mansion State Historic Park
15 mi MuseumCalifornia State Railroad Museum500K visitors a year
14 mi State parkLeland Stanford Mansion State Historic ParkSutter's Fort: Ian Howard, CC BY 2.5 · ARCO Arena: CLopez63, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hornet Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Governor's Mansion State Historic Park: Mark James Miller, CC BY 3.0 · California State Railroad Museum: The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park: M.Mierzwa. MCalamari at en.wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rancho Cordova, 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 Rancho Cordova.
Rancho Cordova carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of California (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Sacramento and beyond and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
55,759 jobs are based in Rancho Cordova, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Rancho Cordova for work: only 15% work in town. 20% of workers work from home in Rancho Cordova. Jobs based in Rancho Cordova grew to 55,759 in 2023, 6,649 more than in 2013.
| Rancho Cordova | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 20% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Folsom-Cordova Unified school district. Three of its 29 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 1,235 | A |
| Cordova HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,944 | – |
| Robert J. McGarvey ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 840 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 2,168 to 1,805 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Rancho Cordova is 5.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Rancho Cordova | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $529K, is 9% below its July 2022 peak.
Rancho Cordova’s median rent is $1,787 a month. The typical Rancho Cordova home is worth about $529,000, down 1.4% in a year, 31% below the California typical home. 58% of Rancho Cordova households own their home.
| Rancho Cordova | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,787 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The biggest place to walk is American River Parkway, 1,344 acres with 12.8 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. American River Parkway | 12.8 mi | 1,344 |
| 2. River Bend Park | 6 mi | 239 |
| 3. Stone Creek Community Park | 1.1 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 98% of California towns, with expected losses of about $154 per resident a year; that rating is what its B+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1982, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rancho Cordova.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 94.8°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 38.8°.
Rancho Cordova has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Rancho Cordova beats the California average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Rancho Cordova | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Rancho Cordova | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.3% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 20.7% | 24.6% |
| More adults with depression | 23.8% | 20.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. Rancho Cordova has grown 10% since 2020, to 87,554 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Rancho Cordova | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 36 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 29% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1 point. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.2, men 35.8.
| Rancho Cordova | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.5% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.6% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.7% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.3% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.8% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.1% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.5% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.7% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.4% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
9 within 15 miles of the center of Rancho Cordova
About 8 of every 100 Rancho Cordova residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Rancho Cordova’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in California, United States
Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Incorporated in 2003, it is part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area. The population was 79,332 at the 2020 census. In 2010 and 2019, Rancho Cordova received the All-America City Award.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Rancho Cordova.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Carmichael (C+) is closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho Cordova | #314 | C+ | D | C− | B+ | B+ |
| Carmichael | #244 | C+ | D | — | B− | B+ |
| Mather | #95 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A− |
| Fair Oaks | #133 | B | D | — | B− | A− |
| La Riviera | #111 | B+ | C− | — | B | B+ |
| Gold River | #61 | A− | D | — | B− | A |
Carmichael, Mather, Fair Oaks, La Riviera and Gold River report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Rancho Cordova with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rancho Cordova grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #314 of 841 in California. It grades B+ for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living 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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