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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

14Placerville

5Fort Bragg

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

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

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Placerville’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%

Placerville$3,110/mo

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

Fort Bragg$3,260/mo

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

PlacervilleFort Bragg

Snow a year—0″

January low—40°F

July high—65°F

Growing season (days)—272d

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

Outdoors & history

PlacervilleFort Bragg

Trails1 mi 5 mi

Conserved land5.6%11.4%

National Register places9 2

Archive photos24 21

Famous people born here27 18

Community

PlacervilleFort Bragg

Library hours a week35 hrs 41 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.

PlacervilleCA Fort BraggCA

Placerville ↔ Fort Bragg168 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

PlacervilleFort Bragg

People

Population 10,762Highest 7,032Lowest

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

Median age 46.8±4.2Lowest 23% above CA 49±4.2Highest 29% 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 17.7%±3.8Lowest CA: 22% 21.4%±4.8Highest 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+ 24.2%±4Highest CA: 15.7% 23.7%±4Lowest 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+ 23.4%Lowest CA: 37.1% 26.4%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.4%±2.7Highest CA: 7.6% 2.7%±1.5Lowest 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 $67,274±$14kHighest 32% below CA $56,481±$12kLowest 43% 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 $473,100±$17kLowest 36% below CA $535,400±$46kHighest 27% 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 $1,234±$175Lowest 39% below CA $1,290±$131Highest 37% 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 $3,563Highest 30% below CA $3,205Lowest 37% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 65%±14Highest CA: 55.3% 61%±13.1Lowest 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 15.9%Lowest CA: 12% 18.2%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

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

Work in townworking residents 17.7%Lowest 45.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 23.8 miHighest 2.3 miLowest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Fort BraggFew work in Placerville

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.6%Lowest 11.4%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 1.3 miLowest 5.0 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 1.7 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 5Highest 3Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district El Dorado Union High · Placerville Union ElementaryFort Bragg Unified

High school in town El Dorado HighFort Bragg High

Students per teacherat that high school 20.7Highest 16.7Lowest

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.

Placerville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Placerville’s Town Square.

Fort Bragg neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Fort Bragg’s Town Square.

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Bordering Placerville

+ Compare

Diamond Springs10,927 people · $423K homes

Towns like Placerville

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Jackson5,048 people · $443K homes

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Mammoth Lakes7,214 people · $867K homes

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Grover Beach12,604 people · $728K homes

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Hughson7,648 people · $511K homes

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.

Placerville vs Fort Bragg

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

Set another town beside Placerville and Fort Bragg

Bordering Placerville

Towns like Placerville

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