94903 — San Rafael, California

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 94903. Its median household income runs 19% above San Rafael as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 41% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured58
SchoolsTop 37% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured60
Growth1,791st of 3,124 ZIP areas measured47
Housing affordability2,947th of 3,112 ZIP areas measured35
ClimateTop 6% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured89
Physical resilience2,340th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured33
Access1,976th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured88
Economic stabilityTop 33% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured64
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $142,083, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for San Rafael, CA, which contains 94903, rather than for 94903 alone.

In the public schools here, 53% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 21.4 students for every teacher.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most ZIP areas measured: rent takes 33% of renter income and the median home is 6.8 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
30,615
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$142,083
Top 5% nationally
Density
1,540/sq mi
19.9 sq mi of land
Median age
49.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
San Rafael
California
Nearest major airport
OAK
28 mi · Oakland San Francisco Bay
Median home value
$1,197,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across San Rafael, CA, which contains 94903, is 3.8%, lower than in 71% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across San Rafael, CA, which contains 94903, fell 2.3% over the past year, to 28,549 employed residents.

55% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $142,083 is higher than in 95% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMarin County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$233,26699th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMarin County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$165,88999th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$17,4442024 ACS 5-Year$142,083Top 5%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,4912024 ACS 5-Year$77,317Top 4%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%Top 31%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.4 minBottom 41%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year55.5%Top 9%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year51.8%8th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSan Rafael, CA’s figureJuly 202628,549Bottom 31%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)San Rafael, CA’s figureJuly 2026−3.5%Bottom 9%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)San Rafael, CA’s figureJuly 2026−2.3%Bottom 14%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceSan Rafael, CA’s figureJuly 202629,67431st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.0%Top 43%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$100,220Top 1%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$74,260Top 1%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year4.1%93rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)San Rafael, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.6%Top 21%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateSan Rafael, CA’s figureJuly 20263.8%Top 29%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%94th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024142k111k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $142,083 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for San Rafael, CA, the city containing this ZIP code.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 66% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.4 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
52.5%
Top 27% in California
Reading proficiency
65.6%
Top 27% in California
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Terra Linda HighSan Rafael City High1,24820.845%62%
Venetia Valley K-8San Rafael City Elementary74821.429%45%
Miller Creek MiddleMiller Creek Elementary62017.763%75%
Mary E. Silveira ElementaryMiller Creek Elementary41224.268%77%
Vallecito ElementaryMiller Creek Elementary40825.569%74%
Lucas Valley ElementaryMiller Creek Elementary31526.376%84%

43.1% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $9,379 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.78% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $3,604, some 20% above the $2,993 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 101% of the median household income here of $142,083.

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 $2,993 a month.

A median home at $1,197,300 costs 6.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $175,557, 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
32.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$3,604
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,993
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$1,197,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 94903’s median household income of $142,083, 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 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+3.5%60th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+20.3%4th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+40.7%1st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year6.8Bottom 3%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year65.8%22nd percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5392024 ACS 5-Year12,66588th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,977Bottom 2%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$4,604Bottom 2%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$3,604Bottom 2%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$2762024 ACS 5-Year$2,993Bottom 1%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$45,6252024 ACS 5-Year$1,197,30099th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4932024 ACS 5-Year$9,37999th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,2452024 ACS 5-Year$175,557Top 3%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.78%40th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year32.8%Bottom 26%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±762024 ACS 5-Year5063rd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%39th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%35th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2542024 ACS 5-Year65279th percentileof 33,7722024 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

47/ 100
Ranks 1,791 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

90% of the 134 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for San Rafael, CA, which contains 94903, rather than for 94903 alone.

At 2.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for San Rafael, CA, which contains 94903, rather than for 94903 alone.

Units permitted
134
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.2
Bottom 40% nationally
Year over year
+436%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
89.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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. This is the figure for Marin County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for San Rafael, CA, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

9 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 66°F and January a low of 47°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 22.9 inches.

40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SAN FRANCISCO DWTN, 18.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year522024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals22.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals66°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals91991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year282024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals11°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). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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.

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 the county around 94903 (Marin County) rather than 94903 itself. 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. San Rafael carries the figure where its 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 Oakland San Francisco Bay at 28 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year95.0%Top 20%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle28 miBottom 32%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%Top 19%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Oakland San Francisco BayOAK28 mi10,520 ft
San Francisco IntlSFO30 mi11,870 ft
Mineta San Jose IntlSJC57 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
55
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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
HousingU.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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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.

94903 vs San Rafael

How this ZIP area compares with San Rafael as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

94903
San Rafael
Median household income: 94903 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$142,083
vs
$119,435
Per capita income: 94903 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$77,317
vs
$70,031
Population density
1,540/sq mi
vs
3,643/sq mi
Median home value
$1,197,300
vs
$1,355,600
Median gross rent: San Rafael is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$2,993
vs
$2,377
Homeownership rate
65.8%
vs
53.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 94903 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
55.5%
vs
49.7%
Poverty rate: 94903 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
6.9%
vs
11.9%
Median age
49.5
vs
43.2

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.