Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

DFort BraggSafer than 8% of U.S. towns C−PlacervilleSafer than 19% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−Fort BraggBetter than 46% of districts in the state B+PlacervilleBetter than 70% of districts in the state

Health

CFort BraggHealthier than 31% of U.S. towns BPlacervilleHealthier than 58% of U.S. towns

5Fort Bragg

14Placerville

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 844 towns #720#19 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #203#642 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #599#141 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #8#425 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #680#317 Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #737#470 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #365#202 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 844 towns #539#328

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Fort Bragg’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $150 more a month in Fort Bragg

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Fort Bragg$3,260/mo

Typical home $567K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.60% · or rent about $1,290/mo · Housing →

Placerville$3,110/mo

Typical home $529K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.75% · or rent about $1,234/mo · Housing →

The difference: $150 a month, about $1,800 a year, between Fort Bragg and Placerville.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Fort BraggPlacerville

Snow a year0″—

January low40°F —

July high65°F —

Growing season (days)272d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)85th 80th

Outdoors & history

Fort BraggPlacerville

Trails5 mi 1 mi

Conserved land11.4%5.6%

National Register places2 9

Archive photos21 24

Famous people born here18 27

Community

Fort BraggPlacerville

Library hours a week41 hrs 35 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

168 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Fort BraggCA PlacervilleCA

Fort Bragg ↔ Placerville168 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs California average

Fort BraggPlacerville

People

Population 7,032Lowest 10,762Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -4%Lowest CA: +6.1% +3.4%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 49±4.2Highest 29% above CA 46.8±4.2Lowest 23% above CA

Fort Bragg and Placerville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21.4%±4.8Highest CA: 22% 17.7%±3.8Lowest CA: 22%

Fort Bragg and Placerville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 23.7%±4Lowest CA: 15.7% 24.2%±4Highest CA: 15.7%

Placerville and Fort Bragg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 26.4%Highest CA: 37.1% 23.4%Lowest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.7%±1.5Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.4%±2.7Highest CA: 7.6%

Placerville and Fort Bragg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $56,481±$12kLowest 43% below CA $67,274±$14kHighest 32% below CA

Placerville and Fort Bragg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $535,400±$46kHighest 27% below CA $473,100±$17kLowest 36% below CA

Fort Bragg and Placerville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,290±$131Highest 37% below CA $1,234±$175Lowest 39% below CA

Fort Bragg and Placerville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,205Lowest 37% below CA $3,563Highest 30% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 61%±13.1Lowest CA: 55.3% 65%±14Highest CA: 55.3%

Placerville and Fort Bragg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 18.2%Highest CA: 12% 15.9%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 46.3%Lowest CA: 55.9% 58.3%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1964Lowest 12 yrs older than CA 1975Highest 1 yr older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 13 minLowest 56% below CA 28 minHighest about the CA average

Work from home 5.6%±3.4Lowest CA: 17.2% 16%±5.1Highest CA: 17.2%

Work in townworking residents 45.4%Highest 17.7%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 2.3 miLowest 23.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.17Lowest 1.90Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Mendocino (8%)Diamond Springs (9%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PlacervilleFew work in Fort Bragg

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 11.4%Highest 5.6%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 5.0 miHighest 1.3 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.7 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Lowest 5Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 66.3Lowest 70.1Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #365 of 574 in CA #202 of 574 in CA

School district Fort Bragg UnifiedEl Dorado Union High · Placerville Union Elementary

High school in town Fort Bragg HighEl Dorado High

Students per teacherat that high school 16.7Lowest 20.7Highest

California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Fort Bragg neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Fort Bragg’s Town Square.

Placerville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Placerville’s Town Square.

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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Fort Bragg vs Placerville

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Placerville places higher on 14 of 21 CA lists

A typical home costs $150 more a month in Fort Bragg

What daily life feels like in each

168 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

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