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San Juan Bautista, California

San Juan Bautista is a small town of about 2,100 people in San Benito County, California. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.8 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 35 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,122
up 1.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$785,800
San Benito County prices down 0.1% since 2022
Household income
$115,833
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, San Jose area
110.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Hollister, CA
To San Jose
35 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 6.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for San Juan Bautista itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byHazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 35 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 San Juan Bautista 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
$785,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Down 0.1%San Benito County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,889 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$115,833U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,033 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
19%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%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 San Juan Bautista 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
2,1222020: 2,093
Median age
41 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
40%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

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 (20%); retail (12%); manufacturing (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
36 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, Hollister, CA, about 8 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Natividad Medical Center, Salinas, CA, about 12 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

2 public schools in San Juan Bautista, run by Aromas - San Juan Unified.

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%

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
39°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
25 a year
Nights at or below freezing
18 a year
Rain and melted snow
13.7 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
221 feet

Weather station: Hollister 2 (6 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: Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, Gilroy, 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

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the San Juan Bautista Plaza Historic District, the Anza House, the Jose Castro House and the San Juan Bautista Third Street Historic District. Three are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Pinnacles National Park26 miles
  • Golden Gate National Recreation Area58 miles

Read about San Juan Bautista's history on Wikipedia.

Know San Juan Bautista?

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, 10 miles
  • Boronda, CA (unincorporated)1,351 people, 13 miles
  • Tres Pinos, CA (unincorporated)901 people, 13 miles
  • Pajaro Dunes, CA (unincorporated)143 people, 15 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.