Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The typical home is worth about $921K, 8.8 years of the Santa Rosa metro’s $105K median household income. Overall it grades C+, ranked 294th of 841 in California. It is healthier than 82% of U.S. towns and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 34% of residents are 65 or older in Sonoma, where California’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 18%. On history, just 41 of California’s 1,063 towns do better.
Where Sonoma beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Sonoma Plaza is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its founding year, 1849, comes before those of 94% of the California towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 757 in 1890, 10,739 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1852 and 4 maps from 1942 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Sonoma is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sonoma. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw37 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw34 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw34 mi GardenPresidio of San Francisco
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaOracle ParkAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sonoma, 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 Sonoma.
Sonoma fares better on crime within California than nationally, draws workers from Santa Rosa and beyond and has home values still below their peak.
5.2 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. The trail density in Sonoma is 1.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Sonoma State Historic Park, at 65 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sonoma State Historic Park | 0.5 mi | 65 |
| 2. Sonoma Plaza | 0.4 mi | 7 |
| 3. Montini Open Space Preserve | 0.3 mi | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Sonoma Valley Unified school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sonoma Valley High, with 1,071 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adele Harrison MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 334 | – |
| Sonoma Valley HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,071 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
6,429 jobs are based in Sonoma, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Sonoma’s working residents works in town. 23% of workers work from home in Sonoma. Since 2013, Sonoma has added 692 jobs, to 6,429 in 2023.
| Sonoma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1978, 42 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sonoma.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
29% of Sonoma adults feel lonely. Sonoma beats the California average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 14% of Sonoma adults report frequent mental distress.
| Sonoma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 36% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Sonoma | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 17.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.1% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.2% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical value, about $921K, is 12% below its June 2022 peak. At about $921K, home values are down 5% in five years, against a rise of 13% across California.
Sonoma’s median rent is $2,226 a month. The typical Sonoma home is worth about $921,000, down 1.4% in a year, 21% above the California typical home.
| Sonoma | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,226 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Sonoma has mild winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 38° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 16.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 84% of California’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 13 reported in 2025, 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Sonoma
About 3 of every 100 Sonoma residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Sonoma’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Sonoma on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Sonoma.
City in California, United States
Sonoma () is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's population was 10,739 as of the 2020 census, while the Sonoma urban area had a population of 31,479. Sonoma is a popular tourist destination, owing to its Californian wineries, noted events like the Sonoma International Film Festival, and its historic center. Sonoma's origins date to 1823, when Padre José Altimira, Giovanni Toscano, and Giovanni Álvarez established Mission San Francisco Solano, under the direction of Governor Luis Antonio Argüello. F…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Sonoma.
El Verano reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Sonoma with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sonoma grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #294 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health, B 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−.
21 notable people were born here, including Tim Schafer and Ada Limón.
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