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Compare towns

Ross vs San Anselmo

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: street grid (2.6× in San Anselmo) and size (4.9× in San Anselmo).

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Ross, CAHomes around $4.16MCalifornia · 2,606 people
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San Anselmo, CAHomes around $1.67MCalifornia · 12,679 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $13,930 more a month in Ross

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.

Ross$23,540/mo
Typical home $4.16M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $3,501/mo · Housing →
San Anselmo$9,610/mo
Typical home $1.67M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.63%+ · or rent about $2,797/mo · Housing →

The difference: $13,930 a month, about $167,200 a year, between Ross and San Anselmo.

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; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Where they are

Ross and San Anselmo share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

RossSan AnselmoRossSan Anselmo
Ross ↔ San Anselmo1.3 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
10 Ross residents work in San Anselmo (1.8% of its workers)
Work & commute in Ross →
Report cards

Ross places higher on 11 of 20 CA lists

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.

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
RossSan Anselmo
Snow a year0″0″
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)98th98th
Outdoors & history
RossSan Anselmo
Trails2 mi6 mi
Conserved land6.1%9.9%
Settled1857—
National Register places1—
Archive photos312
Famous people born here—6
Community
RossSan Anselmo
Library hours a week—44 hrs
Colleges in town—1
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined01

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.

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.

RossSan Anselmo
People
Population 2,606Lowest 12,679Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -3.2%Lowest CA: +6.1% +4%Highest CA: +6.1%
Median age 42.3±3.8Lowest 12% above CA 45.6±3.3Highest 20% above CA
San Anselmo and Ross are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 31.5%±5.7Highest CA: 22% 23.7%±3.4Lowest CA: 22%
Ross and San Anselmo are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 18.8%±3.3Lowest CA: 15.7% 21.6%±2.9Highest CA: 15.7%
San Anselmo and Ross are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 83.2%Highest CA: 37.1% 70.6%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.8%±2.4Lowest CA: 7.6% 3.9%±1.5Highest CA: 7.6%
San Anselmo and Ross are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $250,001Highest 152% above CA $173,641±$17kLowest 75% above CA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $2,000,001Highest 172% above CA $1,576,700±$71kLowest 115% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $3,501Highest 72% above CA $2,797±$327Lowest 37% above CA
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+ at least 95% above CA $10,000+ at least 95% above CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 33.3%±21.7Lowest CA: 55.3% 61.3%±10.2Highest CA: 55.3%
San Anselmo and Ross are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 4.8%Lowest CA: 12% 7.4%Highest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 86.9%Highest CA: 55.9% 68.4%Lowest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1938Lowest 38 yrs older than CA 1955Highest 21 yrs older than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 26 minLowest 9% below CA 30 minHighest 5% above CA
Work from home 47.9%±9.7Highest CA: 17.2% 35.1%±5.6Lowest CA: 17.2%
Ross and San Anselmo are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 2.9%Lowest 8.7%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.8 mi 15.8 mi
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.12Highest 0.55Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town San Francisco (35%)San Francisco (26%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 2% work in San AnselmoFew work in Ross
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 6.1%Lowest 9.9%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 2.4 miLowest 6.4 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.5 miLowest 2.4 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 5Lowest 17Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 52.2Lowest 138Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#52 of 574 in CA
School district Ross ElementaryRoss Valley Elementary · Tamalpais Union High
High school in town None in townArchie Williams High
Students per teacherat that high school — 18.0
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.

Ross neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ross’s Town Square.

San Anselmo neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 6d

Memories of San Anselmo

1 neighbor in San Anselmo can answer.

Add a town

Set another town beside Ross and San Anselmo

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Ross

Towns like Ross

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.

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