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Towns / California

Aromas, California

Aromas is an unincorporated community of about 3,200 people in San Benito County, California. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 5.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Jose, is about 31 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,245
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$863,500
San Benito County prices down 0.1% since 2022
Household income
$148,438
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, San Jose area
110.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Watsonville, CA
To San Jose
31 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.4% above the U.S. average in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Anzar High, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byWatsonville Community Hospital in Watsonville, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 31 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Aromas meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$863,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Down 0.1%San Benito County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,638 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$148,438U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$5,068 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
110.4U.S. average = 100 (the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved down 0.1% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area, not Aromas alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
3,245The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
41.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%U.S.: 6%
College students
10%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Transportation, warehousing and utilities (13%); manufacturing (13%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
21%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
3%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Watsonville Community Hospital, Watsonville, CA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Aromas, run by Aromas - San Juan Unified. The nearest public high school is Anzar High, about 4 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription
92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
40°F
July average high
71°F
Days 90°F or hotter
6 a year
Nights at or below freezing
8 a year
Rain and melted snow
22.7 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
555 feet

Weather station: Watsonville Wtr Wks (9 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Watsonville Community Hospital, Watsonville, San Jose.

San Benito County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Pinnacles National Park31 miles
  • Golden Gate National Recreation Area53 miles

Read about Aromas's history on Wikipedia.

Know Aromas?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Elkhorn, CA (unincorporated)1,664 people, 7 miles
  • Pajaro Dunes, CA (unincorporated)143 people, 10 miles
  • Corralitos, CA (unincorporated)1,884 people, 12 miles
  • La Selva Beach, CA (unincorporated)2,302 people, 12 miles
  • Boronda, CA (unincorporated)1,351 people, 13 miles
  • Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, CA (unincorporated)2,127 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.