Around San Rafael ...
The largest community within a 50 mile [80 km] radius is San Francisco. It is located about 15 miles [24 km] to the southeast of San Rafael. San Francisco has a population of 867,000 people.<1>.
The next largest community is Oakland. It is located about 18 miles [ km] to the southeast of San Rafael and has a population of 425,000 people.
For comparison, San Rafael has a population of 58,500 people.
The following is a sample of neighboring communities based on their distance from San Rafael, with the nearest first.
- Cerro
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro
- Cerro is located in Marin County
- Green Brae
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Brae
- Green Brae is located in Marin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Brae <2>
- Ross
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Ross is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,479 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <2>
- San Anselmo
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Anselmo
- San Anselmo is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,513 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Anselmo <2>
- Santa Venetia
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Venetia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Venetia
- Santa Venetia is located in Marin County
- Kentfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentfield
- Kentfield is located in Marin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kentfield <2>
- Larkspur
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkspur
- Larkspur is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,236 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Larkspur <2>
- Terra Linda
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terra Linda
- Terra Linda is located in Marin County
- Corte Madera
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corte Madera
- Corte Madera is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,833 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corte Madera <2>
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Fairfax
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Fairfax is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,561 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairfax <2>
- San Quentin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Quentin
- San Quentin is located in Marin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Quentin <2>
- Mill Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Valley
- Mill Valley is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,323 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mill Valley <2>
- Bel Aire
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Aire
- Bel Aire is located in Marin County
- Paradise Cay
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Cay
- Paradise Cay is located in Marin County
- Strawberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
- Strawberry is located in Marin County
- Fairfax
For more communities neighboring San Rafael, please visit our County-by-County Page for San Rafael.
Marin County ...
San Rafael is located in Marin County<4> and is the County Seat.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Marin County: Contra Costa, San Francisco & Sonoma. The western boundary of the county is on the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay is to the southeast.
Curious and Interesting Names Near San Rafael ...
It seems like there is always a nearby community with a name that seems interesting, maybe familiar or just catches our attention in some other way. We've collected some names which strike us as being curious or interesting. Our list can be found on the Tidbits & Trivia Page for San Rafael.
Airports Near San Rafael ...
When a trip includes a flight, we try to find an airport that best fits our travel plans.<5> To that purpose, we've assembled a list of that are relatively close to San Rafael and that information can be found on the Airports Page for San Rafael.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for San Rafael ...
Looking for more information about San Rafael? A good source is the TripAdvisor website and we always start with their TripAdvisor page for San Rafael. Their page will give you an overview and then additional links that will help you to find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the TripAdvisor page for San Rafael, there are neighboring communities that also have TripAdvisor pages. A list of those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for San Rafael.
Websites We Enjoy ...
When we're planning a trip, we like to check the following websites for sights, attractions and places to visit.
- For the State of California:
- TripAdvisor Links for:
- California Statewide Tourism
- San Rafael Tourism
- Additional neighboring communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for San Rafael
- Also of Interest:
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for San Rafael: www.cityofsanrafael.org/
The official website for Marin County: www.co.marin.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for San Rafael. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | If you're interested in how the shape of California's counties, including Marin, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <5> | When we are planning a trip (for example, to San Rafael), we usually look for the obvious: the choice of airlines that fly into the airport, the number of flights, the connections we have to make, which car rentals are available, etc. We also look for sights and attractions that we might find between any given airport and our destination - we do love exploring. We're willing to fly into a more distant airport if we can get the services and amenities that we like. Even though our choice of airport might be inconvenient to others, it usually gives us a better trip. |