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Towns / California

Placerville, California

Placerville is a small town of about 10,700 people in El Dorado County, California. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 7 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, Sacramento, is about 38 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
10,685
down 0.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$473,100
El Dorado County prices up 1.3% since 2022
Household income
$67,274
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Sacramento area
106.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Marshall Medical Center
To Sacramento
38 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.7% above the U.S. average in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood47 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town11 public schools: 5 elementary, 4 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMarshall Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 38 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 Placerville 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
$473,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 1.3%El Dorado County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,234 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$67,274U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,563 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
106.7U.S. average = 100 (the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 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 1.3% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area, not Placerville 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, 2025 estimate
10,6852020: 10,719
Median age
46.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
23%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%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 (22%); professional and business services (13%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Marshall Medical Center, Placerville, CA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

11 public schools in Placerville, run by Placerville Union Elementary and Mother Lode Union Elementary.

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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
77%U.S.: 76%
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
34°F
July average high
94°F
Days 90°F or hotter
74 a year
Nights at or below freezing
30 a year
Rain and melted snow
37.5 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
1,952 feet

Weather stations: Placerville (3 miles away) and Fiddletown Dexter Rch (15 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Folsom, Sacramento.

El Dorado 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

10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Coloma, the Eddy Tree Breeding Station and Hattie (Gold Bug), Priest and Silver Pine Mines and Stampmill. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Read about Placerville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Placerville?

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

  • Cold Springs, CA (unincorporated)449 people, 4 miles
  • Camino, CA (unincorporated)2,079 people, 6 miles
  • Coloma, CA (unincorporated)462 people, 7 miles
  • Georgetown, CA (unincorporated)2,403 people, 13 miles
  • River Pines, CA (unincorporated)374 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.