Welcome to San Rafael ...
The coastal city of San Rafael is located in Marin County<1> and is the County Seat for Marin County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of San Rafael, you might consider that their post office opened in 1851.
The city was incorporated February 18, 1874.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, San Rafael has a population of 59,066 people<2> (see below for details).
San Rafael is 160 feet [49 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: San Rafael lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time
San Rafael lies within the (415) area code.
The ZIP codes for San Rafael: 94901, 94903, 94912-94913, 94915<4>
Websites for San Rafael ...
Official Website: www.cityofsanrafael.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, San Rafael had an population of 59,066 people. This is an increase of 2.34% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 5.36% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, San Rafael had a population of 57,713 people (which is 22.82% of the total population of Marin County). This makes San Rafael the county's most populous community.
The population of San Rafael represents 0.15% of the total population of California (which has 37,253,956 people), making it the state's 147th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 57,713 people, the population of San Rafael increased 2.94% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 56,063 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for San Rafael.
Communities Also Named San Rafael ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named San Rafael - they are located in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for San Rafael.
Communities near San Rafael ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near San Rafael.
- San Francisco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Francisco
- San Francisco is located in San Francisco County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 866,606 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Francisco <5>
- Oakland
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Oakland is located in Alameda County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 424,891 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakland <5>
- Berkeley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley
- Berkeley is located in Alameda County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122,726 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Berkeley <5>
- Vallejo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vallejo
- Vallejo is located in Solano County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120,747 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vallejo <5>
- Richmond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Richmond is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110,038 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <5>
- Daly City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daly City
- Daly City is located in San Mateo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105,868 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daly City <5>
- Petaluma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petaluma
- Petaluma is located in Sonoma County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60,632 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petaluma <5>
- Novato
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Novato
- Novato is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53,351 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Novato <5>
- San Pablo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
- San Pablo is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,779 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Pablo <5>
- Hercules
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hercules
- Hercules is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,221 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hercules <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around San Rafael. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for San Rafael.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of San Rafael. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around San Rafael.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around San Rafael. Our list includes 25 papers. See our Newspapers Page for San Rafael.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for San Rafael ...
Looking for more information about San Rafael? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for San Rafael, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for San Rafael.
Adding San Rafael to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of San Rafael in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for San Rafael was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the San Rafael post office opened in 1851.
We also found San Rafael in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for San Rafael.
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> | 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. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for San Rafael. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around San Rafael - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as San Rafael). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether San Rafael or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for San Rafael includes: 94901, 94903, 94912 & 94913. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |