Marin County, CA

County Profile

257,969 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Marin County, CA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 27% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity770th of 1,463 counties measured54
SchoolsTop 14% of 1,377 counties measured78
Growth1,164th of 1,453 counties measured33
Housing affordability1,458th of 1,462 counties measured29
ClimateTop 30% of 1,463 counties measured74
Physical resilience1,185th of 1,463 counties measured33
AccessTop 45% of 1,463 counties measured83
Economic stabilityTop 18% of 1,463 counties measured82
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.2% and median household income $149,091, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 55% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 14% of published profiles for schools.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most counties measured: rent takes 33% of renter income and the median home is 7.7 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
257,969
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$149,091
Top 1% nationally
Density
496/sq mi
520.1 sq mi of land
Median age
47.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Marin County
California
Nearest major airport
SFO
36 mi · San Francisco Intl
Median home value
$1,507,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2% — higher than in all but 47% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 117,586 employed residents.

61% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 99% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $149,091 is higher than in 99% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$233,26699th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$165,88999th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,4742024 ACS 5-Year$149,091Top 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,4142024 ACS 5-Year$93,920Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$180,661Top 1%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%Top 14%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.9 minBottom 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year61.1%Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year51.8%2nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026117,586Top 21%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.5%Bottom 13%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 16%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026122,68280th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year80.8%Top 23%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year3.6%97th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 38%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.2%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year31.5%99th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.2% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024149k131k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $149,091 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides119,120$35,950
Software Developers69,030$186,640
Fast Food and Counter Workers49,970$43,870
General and Operations Managers43,520$149,990
Registered Nurses41,750$186,610
Retail Salespersons39,460$43,850

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

55% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 19.5 students for every full-time teacher across 66 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
69
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.5
across 66 of them
Math proficiency
54.9%
Top 2% in California
Reading proficiency
63.8%
Top 5% in California
The 12 largest of 69 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Redwood HighTamalpais Union High1,72219.665%74%
Tamalpais HighTamalpais Union High1,47019.354%71%
San Rafael HighSan Rafael City High1,33219.929%46%
Novato HighNovato Unified1,28719.837%66%
San Marin HighNovato Unified1,25022.344%60%
Terra Linda HighSan Rafael City High1,24820.845%62%
Archie Williams HighTamalpais Union High1,14118.163%76%
James B. Davidson MiddleSan Rafael City Elementary1,05217.233%44%
Venetia Valley K-8San Rafael City Elementary74821.429%45%
Mill Valley MiddleMill Valley Elementary72115.777%84%
Sinaloa MiddleNovato Unified69321.058%62%
Miller Creek MiddleMiller Creek Elementary62017.763%75%

34.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 18% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 117.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division is up 20% over five years, and up 3.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $3,604, some 35% above the $2,668 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $3,604 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $144,200 a year, about 97% of the median household income here of $149,091.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,668 a month.

A median home at $1,507,300 costs 7.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $196,165, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
117.6

Prices here run about 18% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
33.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
7.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$3,604
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,668
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$1,507,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marin County’s median household income of $149,091, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2023117.6Bottom 1%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+3.5%52nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+20.3%3rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+40.7%1st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year7.7Bottom 1%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year64.7%14th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1182024 ACS 5-Year112,11691st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,977Bottom 1%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$4,604Bottom 1%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$3,604Bottom 1%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$832024 ACS 5-Year$2,668Bottom 1%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$27,3462024 ACS 5-Year$1,507,30099th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year$10,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,8442024 ACS 5-Year$196,165Top 1%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year33.3%Bottom 8%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4072024 ACS 5-Year3,52091st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%53rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%16th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7252024 ACS 5-Year9,09890th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

33/ 100
Ranks 1,164 of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, to 256,400 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Marin County lost about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $233,266, above the $165,889 of households that moved out.

At 1.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
273
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.1
Bottom 19% nationally
Year over year
+99%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
44.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024261k256k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
26%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$233,266
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$165,889
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. San Francisco County, CA 2,272 people · 24% of arrivals
  2. Sonoma County, CA 781 people · 8.4% of arrivals
  3. Alameda County, CA 661 people · 7.1% of arrivals
  4. Contra Costa County, CA 566 people · 6.1% of arrivals
  5. Los Angeles County, CA 428 people · 4.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Sonoma County, CA 1,808 people · 17% of departures
  2. San Francisco County, CA 1,035 people · 9.9% of departures
  3. Contra Costa County, CA 575 people · 5.5% of departures
  4. Alameda County, CA 484 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Los Angeles County, CA 405 people · 3.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025301143
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−12%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 62°F and January a low of 45°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 28.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 28, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

30°50°70°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BODEGA 6 WSW, 25.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year522024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals28.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals62°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year282024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals8°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
28
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
52
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

33 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and coastal flooding, with inland flooding alone responsible for 45% of it.

EarthquakeHigh
Coastal floodingHigh
Inland floodingHigh
WildfireModerate
TsunamiModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, heat wave, volcanic activity, drought, lightning, tornado, strong wind, winter weather, hail, cold wave, ice storm, hurricane, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Marin County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 4.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.5 per 100,000 residents in Marin County.

Homicide
1.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
4.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
16.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Marin County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest San Francisco Intl at 36 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year95.8%Top 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle36 miBottom 49%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 13%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%Top 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
San Francisco IntlSFO36 mi11,870 ft
Oakland San Francisco BayOAK37 mi10,520 ft
Mineta San Jose IntlSJC65 mi11,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.