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Towns / California

St. Helena, California

St. Helena is a small town of about 5,200 people in Napa County, California. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 11.1 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 54 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,194
down 4.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$1,647,700
Napa County prices up 4% since 2022
Household income
$148,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Napa area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Saint Helena, CA
To Sacramento
54 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the Napa metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 11.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byAdventist Health St. Helena in Saint Helena, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 54 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 St. Helena 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
$1,647,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 4%Napa County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,535 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$148,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
66%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$7,947 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
21%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
7%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
112.6U.S. average = 100 (the Napa 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 4% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Napa metro area, not St. Helena 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
5,1942020: 5,421
Median age
48.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
33%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
57%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
Manufacturing (20%); professional and business services (17%); schools, health care and social services (15%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
20%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Adventist Health St. Helena, Saint Helena, CA, about 2 miles away. 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

4 public schools in St. Helena, run by Saint Helena 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
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
55 a year
Nights at or below freezing
14 a year
Rain and melted snow
34 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
222 feet

Weather station: Saint Helena (less than a mile 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: Adventist Health St. Helena, Santa Rosa, Sacramento.

Napa County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

22 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Elmshaven, Beringer Brothers-Los Hermanos Winery, the St. Helena Historic Commercial District and the St. Helena Public Cemetery. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Golden Gate National Recreation Area32 miles
  • Point Reyes National Seashore33 miles
  • Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial39 miles
  • John Muir National Historic Site40 miles
  • Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park42 miles

Read about St. Helena's history on Wikipedia.

Know St. Helena?

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

  • Deer Park, CA (unincorporated)720 people, 2 miles
  • Kenwood, CA (unincorporated)1,028 people, 8 miles
  • Glen Ellen, CA (unincorporated)1,078 people, 12 miles
  • Eldridge, CA (unincorporated)1,379 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.