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California›Marin County

Sleepy HollowCA

A town of 3,063.

Is Sleepy Hollow a good place to live?

For most people who can afford it, yes. Sleepy Hollow grades A− overall, ranked 59th of 841 in California. It is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns and its public schools beat 95% of California towns on state tests and graduation. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $2.0 million for a typical one and 14.7 times the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income. 80% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Sleepy Hollow, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Sleepy Hollow is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns. Loma Alta Open Space Preserve, at 122 acres with 3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.

What makes Sleepy Hollow stand out

Where Sleepy Hollow beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.

A commuter town

98% of working residents leave Sleepy Hollow for work

Where Sleepy Hollow’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

26% → San Francisco San Francisco 26% 10% → San Rafael San Rafael 10% 7% → San Anselmo San Anselmo 7% 4% → Novato Novato 4% 3% → Larkspur Larkspur 3% 2% → Kentfield Kentfield 2% Sleepy Hollow · 2% stay
350jobs based in Sleepy Hollow
2%of working residents work in town
18 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How Sleepy Hollow grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Sleepy Hollow is from typical.

How grading works

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.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Sleepy Hollow 1
Sleepy Hollow 1, 2024
Sleepy Hollow’s story

Sleepy Hollow in pictures

The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2024 and 5 maps from 1914 on.

Explore the history →
Nearby attractions

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and 182 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sleepy Hollow. Close and well known come first.

All 229 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Muir Woods National Monument: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Getting set up

Moving to Sleepy Hollow: who provides what

Sleepy Hollow is unincorporated, so Marin County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterMarin Municipal Water DistrictNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesMarin CountyMarin County provides services here
SchoolsRoss Valley Elementary School DistrictTamalpais Union High School District2 districts serve Sleepy Hollow; 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.gov
Who runs elections hereMarin County Registrar of VotersMarin County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2025
ZIP code9496094960 100%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 Sleepy Hollow.

Sleepy Hollow has schools in the top 5% of California and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.

OutdoorsA+

Sleepy Hollow stands out in California and nationally: trail density there is higher

Sleepy Hollow’s trail density is 8.3 miles per square mile. 25 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. More trails than any other town in California.

#1for trails in CA
27.4%
conserved · 518 of 1,891 acres
25 mi
of trails · 8.3 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Terra Linda - Sleepy Hollow Open Space Preserve5.1 mi174
2. Loma Alta Open Space Preserve3 mi122

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

SchoolsA+

Sleepy Hollow’s grade for schools is an A+

Its A+ ranks #29 of the 847 California towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $2M.

Its public schools are run by the Ross Valley Elementary school district. Its two schools are below.

95%of CA districts it outscoresA+School Grade
SchoolLevelStudentsLetter
Hidden Valley ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5Grades K–5274A+
San Domenico School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12Grades K–12679–

NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation

HealthA+

A smaller share of adults sleep under 7 hours in Sleepy Hollow than in most of California or the rest of the country

Against the 436 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sleepy Hollow’s, it is less healthy than 52%: its national edge comes with its incomes.

27% of Sleepy Hollow adults sleep under 7 hours. Sleepy Hollow beats the California average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 14% of Sleepy Hollow adults get no exercise outside work.

98%healthier than U.S. townsA+Health Grade
Sleepy HollowCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Obesity (CDC PLACES)20%29%35%
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)27%35%36%
Feel lonely (CDC PLACES)27%36%33%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)13%17%17%
32 measures vs. California
21 better9 too close to call2 worse
What stands outSleepy HollowCA
Fewer uninsured adults2.8%10.6%
Fewer adults facing food insecurity5%17.9%
More adults who have had cancer12%6.4%
Kaiser Foundation Hospital
1.9 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
96th
percentile among CA towns

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D

Sleepy Hollow faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding

Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 88% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 64 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sleepy Hollow.

88risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
88Very high riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingEarthquakes
64
paid flood claims since 1980

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+

Sleepy Hollow has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

The average commute for its 929 working residents takes 46.8 minutes, against 28.7 across California. 44.2% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.

Most working residents leave Sleepy Hollow for work: only 2% work in town. The average trip to work in Sleepy Hollow is 47 minutes. Jobs based in Sleepy Hollow grew to 350 in 2023, 84 more than in 2013.

2%work in town
Sleepy HollowCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work47 minutes28 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$250,000$95,000$80,000
Below the poverty line1%10%9.6%
Working residents who work in town1.8%6.6%8%

Where working residents work

In Sleepy Hollow2%
San Francisco26%
San Rafael10%
San Anselmo7%
Novato4%
18 mi
median commute distance
350
jobs based in Sleepy Hollow
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
A−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Mild winters and pleasant summers in Sleepy Hollow

January nights average 41.2°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 76.3°.

Sleepy Hollow has warm winters and pleasant summers. Snow is almost unheard of.

78°summer high
Sleepy HollowCalifornia townsU.S. towns
July high76°F89°F85°F
January low41°F40°F22°F

Typical low → high °F

Winter42–57°
Spring45–64°
Summer52–76°
Fall49–71°
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
78°
typical summer high

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

HousingCost of living grade D−

Homes in Sleepy Hollow sell for about $2.82M

At 14.7 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 92% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.

88% of households own their home in Sleepy Hollow.

$2.82Mmedian sale price
Market temperature
Seller’s marketA strong seller's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
11
days on market
107.4%
sale-to-list price
6
homes sold in May

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Sleepy Hollow

17pages on Sleepy Hollow
After high school

Colleges nearby

4 within 15 miles of the center of Sleepy Hollow

About Sleepy Hollow

Census-designated place in California, United States

Sleepy Hollow is a census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. It is located 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Novato at an elevation of 177 feet (54 m). Its population as of the 2020 census was 2,401.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
3.0 sq mi
Elevation
177 ft
Area code
415

Sleepy Hollow’s neighbors

3 towns share a border with Sleepy Hollow.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownCA rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Sleepy Hollow#59A−D−—A+A+
San Anselmo#49A−D−—A+A+
Fairfax#81B+DBA+A
San Rafael#380CD−DB+A−

Sleepy Hollow and San Anselmo report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sleepy Hollow with a neighbor →

Questions about Sleepy Hollow

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Sleepy Hollow, CA a good place to live?

For most people who can afford it, yes. Sleepy Hollow grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #59 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health and A+ for schools, and has the most trail per square mile in the state. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.

Is Sleepy Hollow, CA expensive?

Yes. The typical home is worth about $2,000,000, 163% 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−.