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Strawberry vs Mill Valley

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: trails (8.5× in Mill Valley) and homeowners (+24.7 pts renters in Strawberry).

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Strawberry, CAKnown for its schoolsCalifornia · 5,830 people
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Mill Valley, CAHomes around $2.13MCalifornia · 14,012 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 · Where they are

Strawberry and Mill Valley share a border

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

StrawberryMill ValleyStrawberryMill Valley
Strawberry ↔ Mill Valley2.2 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
73 Strawberry residents work in Mill Valley (3.8% of its workers)
Work & commute in Strawberry →
Monthly cost

A typical home costs $730 more a month in Mill Valley

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.

Strawberry$11,320/mo
Typical home $2M (Census) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $2,958/mo · Housing →
Mill Valley$12,050/mo
Typical home $2.13M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $3,278/mo · Housing →

The difference: $730 a month, about $8,700 a year, between Mill Valley and Strawberry.

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.

Report cards

Mill Valley places higher on 13 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
StrawberryMill Valley
Snow a year0″0″
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)79th80th
Outdoors & history
StrawberryMill Valley
Trails3 mi22 mi
Conserved land15.2%25.3%
Settled1949—
National Register places—4
Archive photos112
Famous people born here—20
Community
StrawberryMill Valley
Library hours a week—55 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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.

StrawberryMill Valley
People
Population 5,830Lowest 14,012Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +1%Lowest CA: +6.1% +2.4%Highest CA: +6.1%
Median age 43.9±3.4Lowest 16% above CA 48.7±2.8Highest 28% above CA
Mill Valley and Strawberry are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 22%±4.4Highest CA: 22% 18.6%±2.5Lowest CA: 22%
Strawberry and Mill Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 21.3%±1.9Lowest CA: 15.7% 23.5%±3.1Highest CA: 15.7%
Mill Valley and Strawberry are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 72.1%Lowest CA: 37.1% 75.8%Highest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7.8%±2.2Highest CA: 7.6% 5.2%±2.1Lowest CA: 7.6%
Strawberry and Mill Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $157,661±$33kLowest 59% above CA $206,212±$11kHighest 108% above CA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $2,000,001 172% above CA $2,000,001 172% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,958±$413Lowest 45% above CA $3,278±$682Highest 61% above CA
Mill Valley and Strawberry are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+ at least 95% above CA $10,000+ at least 95% above CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.7%±6Highest CA: 55.3% 39.3%±11.9Lowest CA: 55.3%
Below poverty line 7%Highest CA: 12% 5.9%Lowest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 41.5%Lowest CA: 55.9% 66.2%Highest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1971Highest 5 yrs older than CA 1958Lowest 18 yrs older than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 30 minHighest 4% above CA 25 minLowest 14% below CA
Work from home 29.7%±5.8Lowest CA: 17.2% 40%±5.6Highest CA: 17.2%
Mill Valley and Strawberry are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 4.3%Lowest 9.3%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.8 miLowest 11.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.10Highest 0.99Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town San Francisco (33%)San Francisco (35%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 4% work in Mill ValleyFew work in Strawberry
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 15.2%Lowest 25.3%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 2.6 miLowest 22.1 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.4 miLowest 4.6 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 6Lowest 16Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 77.9Lowest 84.9Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#48 of 574 in CA
School district Mill Valley ElementaryMill Valley Elementary · Tamalpais Union High
High school in town None in townTamalpais High
Students per teacherat that high school — 19.2
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.

Strawberry neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Strawberry’s Town Square.

Mill Valley neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mill Valley’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Strawberry and Mill Valley

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

Bordering Strawberry

Towns like Strawberry

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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