Living in Las Lomas, California: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9% above the U.S. average in the Salinas metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 7.9 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 Ceiba College Preparatory Academy, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byWatsonville Community Hospital in Watsonville, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 30 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 Las Lomas 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: $687,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 10%Monterey County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $86,775U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 109U.S. average = 100 (the Salinas 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 up 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Salinas metro area, not Las Lomas 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: 3,355The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 23.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 41%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 2%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 0%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: Schools, health care and social services (23%); retail (10%)
Average commute: 23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 19%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 5 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 Las Lomas, run by Pajaro Valley Unified. The nearest public high school is Ceiba College Preparatory Academy, about 3 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: 99%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: 111 feet

Weather station: Watsonville Wtr Wks (5 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

Watsonville Community HospitalEmergency room5

Watsonville, CACity of 51,0004

San Jose, CAMetro of 2 million30

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.

Monterey County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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 Park35 miles
Golden Gate National Recreation Area50 miles

Read about Las Lomas's history on Wikipedia.

Know Las Lomas?

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

Pajaro, CA2,900 people, 2 miles
Watsonville, CA51,000 people, 4 miles
Aromas, CA3,200 people, 6 miles
Interlaken, CA8,100 people, 6 miles
Prunedale, CA19,700 people, 6 miles
Freedom, CA3,200 people, 6 miles

Smaller places

Elkhorn, CA (unincorporated)1,664 people, 4 miles
Pajaro Dunes, CA (unincorporated)143 people, 4 miles
La Selva Beach, CA (unincorporated)2,302 people, 7 miles
Corralitos, CA (unincorporated)1,884 people, 9 miles
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, CA (unincorporated)2,127 people, 9 miles
Boronda, CA (unincorporated)1,351 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.