Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,991.
Yosemite Valley’s best subject grade is an A+ for the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 99% of the land in Yosemite Valley is conserved, above both California’s towns (4.3%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). No town in California scores higher than Yosemite Valley on the outdoors. Yosemite Valley has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ahwahnee Hotel and LeConte Memorial Lodge. Yosemite Valley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Yosemite Valley beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
1,035 counted in 2010 and 337 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Yosemite Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1927.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Yosemite Valley. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year
Big draw2 mi MountainHalf Dome
in town WaterfallYosemite Falls
36 mi LakeMono Lake
18 mi LakeHetch Hetchy
in town AttractionGlacier PointYosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Half Dome: Jon Sullivan, Public domain · Yosemite Falls: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mono Lake: File:Mono lake sat.jpg: created by NASA Rotation and crop: Hike395, Public domain · Hetch Hetchy: Vulpinus2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Glacier Point: Tuxyso, CC BY-SA 3.0
Yosemite Valley is unincorporated, so Mariposa 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Yosemite Valley.
The biggest place to walk is Yosemite National Park, 1,350 acres with 13.2 miles of trail. Trails run 14 miles in 2 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Yosemite Valley: 2, covering 1,488 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Yosemite National Park | 13.2 mi | 1,350 |
| 2. Yosemite Wilderness | 0.6 mi | 138 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yosemite National Park Valley ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 25 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Just over a third of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Yosemite Valley, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Adults 18 to 34 are 52% of residents (24% statewide); children under 18 are 2% of residents (22% statewide).
| Yosemite Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.8 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 29% | 29% |
Somewhere between 20% and 44% women
The Census survey reached too few of Yosemite Valley’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11.9 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Yosemite Valley | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 1.3% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 0.7% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 18.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 33.1% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.2% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 2.9% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.5% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.1% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.1% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.6% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.8% | 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
For most workers, Yosemite Valley is a place to come home to: only 18% work in town. Yosemite Valley’s mean commuting time comes in at 23 minutes. Jobs based in Yosemite Valley grew to 1,063 in 2023, 148 more than in 2013. Also worth knowing: 21% of Yosemite Valley residents live below the poverty line.
| Yosemite Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in Yosemite Valley than in 99% of U.S. communities. Nearly three fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by wildfires at 27%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 24°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For adults in Yosemite Valley, the share who sleep under 7 hours is 34%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Yosemite Valley is ahead of California on 3 and behind on 6. Among adults locally, 21% report frequent mental distress and 20% binge drink.
| Yosemite Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Yosemite Valley | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.7% | 11.7% |
| More smokers | 15% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Yosemite Valley; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Yosemite Valley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Yosemite Valley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Yosemite Valley on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Yosemite Valley (Yosemite, Miwok for "killer") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mariposa County, California, United States. It consists of Yosemite Village, the main developed area, together with adjacent areas of the Yosemite Valley within Yosemite National Park. The population was 337 at the 2020 census. Situated along the north side of the valley floor, its permanent population includes staff of the National Park Service, which administers the park, and some concession workers associated with various contracts in the park. The village has some public facilities, such as a fire station, a post office (ZIP Code 95389), a medical clinic, a convenience store, restaurants, gift shops, an…
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