Best PlacesEast Petaluma, Petaluma, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Petaluma, Petaluma, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
East Petaluma, Petaluma ranks 2,576th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in East Petaluma, Petaluma
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
East Petaluma, Petaluma's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Petaluma, Petaluma ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 171 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of neighborhoods
Where East Petaluma, Petaluma ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Petaluma, Petaluma
A household needs to earn about $204,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Petaluma, Petaluma home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $102,713, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses East Petaluma, Petaluma's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in East Petaluma, Petaluma
East Petaluma, Petaluma runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for East Petaluma, Petaluma.
Who works in East Petaluma, Petaluma, and how
Work in East Petaluma, Petaluma centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in East Petaluma, Petaluma
East Petaluma, Petaluma has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 30 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of East Petaluma, Petaluma and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Petaluma, Petaluma, month by month
East Petaluma, Petaluma sees roughly 171 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 48° | 41° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 81° | 63° | 52° |
| October | 76° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of East Petaluma, Petaluma
The nearest airport, Charles M Schulz/Sonoma County, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Francisco Bay Oakland International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around East Petaluma, Petaluma
Schools across East Petaluma, Petaluma average a B−, better than 66% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Live Oak CharterA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Petaluma Accelerated CharterA+ · 94% proficient
- Kenilworth Junior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Petaluma Junior HighB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Casa Grande HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Petaluma HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Valley Oaks High (alternative)B · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Petaluma, Petaluma school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East Petaluma, Petaluma measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare East Petaluma, Petaluma against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in East Petaluma, Petaluma
Is East Petaluma, Petaluma a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Petaluma, Petaluma ranks 2,576th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, clean air, and low property taxes, and lowest on noise and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Petaluma, Petaluma expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $808,648. The overall cost of living runs about 35% above the national average. Set against a $102,713 median income, cost of living beats 45% of neighborhoods.
Is East Petaluma, Petaluma safe?
East Petaluma, Petaluma is safer than 31% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $750 per resident a year.
Compare East Petaluma, Petaluma with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Petaluma, Petaluma. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Petaluma, Petaluma represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
East Petaluma, Petaluma detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Petaluma, Petaluma: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Petaluma, Petaluma: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Petaluma, Petaluma: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Petaluma, Petaluma: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Petaluma, Petaluma detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.