HomeCaliforniaSonoma County
Sonoma County, California: commercial real estate data.
Sonoma County, California has a population of 485,040 across 1,576 square miles, down 0.7 percent since the 2020 census base. County output reached $39.45 bn in 2024, 14,572 establishments operate here, and the SBA record carries 555 7(a) approvals worth $348.2 m.
129 sourced county values · tier FULL · 12 sections · underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency
Sonoma County
How many people live in Sonoma County
- Population485,040
- Households190,998
- Average household size2.54
- Median household income$104,674
- Median age42.9
- Median gross rent$2,158 per month
- Median owner-occupied home value$815,500
- Home value to household income7.8 times
- Annual rent as a share of median income24.7 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher38.5 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree14.6 percent
- Adults 25 and over354,661
- Population under 1892,397
- Share under 1819.0 percent
- Population 65 and over104,389
- Share 65 and over21.5 percent
- Working age population, 18 to 64288,254
- Civilian labor force258,155
- Unemployment rate5.7 percent
- Labor force participation, adults 18 and over65.7 percent
- Rank by population among California counties17th of 58
- Rank by population among US county-equivalents150th
Sonoma County is the 17th largest of 58 California counties by population. A median home costs 7.8 times median household income, which is a stretched ownership market and usually shows up as rental demand. Residents 65 and over outnumber those under 18, at 21.5 percent against 19.0 percent, which points demand at health care, services and single storey product rather than schools.
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Sonoma County
Is Sonoma County's population growing?
- Population change since the 2020 census base-0.71 percent
- Census 2020 base population488,862
- Births, 20244,240
- Deaths, 20244,393
- Natural change, 2024-153
- Net domestic migration, 2024-206
- Net international migration, 20242,349
- Total net migration, 20242,143
- Cumulative net domestic migration, 2021 to 2024-8,101
- Rank by growth among US county-equivalents2091st
The county has lost 0.71 percent of its population since the 2020 census base. Deaths exceeded births in 2024, so all of the growth came from people moving in. A market held up by migration alone is more sensitive to a change in relative cost than one growing from household formation.
US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
Sonoma County
Where are people moving to Sonoma County from?
- Tax returns filed by households arriving9,989
- People arriving, from those returns15,551
- Adjusted gross income arriving$1.43 bn
- Net adjusted gross income movement$0
- Average income of an arriving household$142,818
- Largest single originSonoma County Non-migrants (203,294 households)
- Largest single destination (203,294 households)
| Origin | Households | People | Adjusted gross income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonoma County Non-migrants | 203,294 | 384,022 | $23.82 bn |
| Other flows - Different State | 1,873 | 2,925 | $173.7 m |
| Marin County | 1,182 | 1,953 | $143.2 m |
| San Francisco County | 793 | 1,233 | $274.7 m |
| Other flows - South | 644 | 1,049 | $64.9 m |
| Alameda County | 622 | 980 | $94.5 m |
| Other flows - West | 615 | 929 | $42.1 m |
| Contra Costa County | 408 | 658 | $52.2 m |
The largest single source of arrivals is Sonoma County Non-migrants, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.
US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Sonoma County
What is the Sonoma County economy?
- County GDP, 2024$39.45 bn
- County GDP, 2023$38.08 bn
- GDP change, 2023 to 20243.6 percent
- GDP change over five years24.7 percent
- Rank by GDP among California counties17th
- Rank by GDP among US county-equivalents151st
- GDP per resident$81,329
Output grew 3.6 percent in the latest year and 24.7 percent over five, which is the trend line a lender will read behind any single year figure.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024.
Sonoma County
Largest employers in Sonoma County
- Covered employment, annual average206,849
- Establishments reporting21,652
- Average annual pay$71,422
- Average weekly wage$1,373
- Sector 62, employment33,992
- Sector 62, average annual pay$75,712
- Sector 44-45, employment22,460
- Sector 44-45, average annual pay$46,087
- Sector 72, employment21,171
- Sector 72, average annual pay$36,237
- Sector 31-33, employment21,072
- Sector 31-33, average annual pay$94,399
- Sector 23, employment16,281
- Sector 56, employment12,838
| Sector | Employment | Establishments | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sector 62 | 33,992 | 7,438 | $75,712 |
| Sector 44-45 | 22,460 | 1,542 | $46,087 |
| Sector 72 | 21,171 | 1,283 | $36,237 |
| Sector 31-33 | 21,072 | 1,066 | $94,399 |
| Sector 23 | 16,281 | 2,308 | $85,465 |
| Sector 56 | 12,838 | 918 | $54,054 |
| Sector 54 | 8,517 | 1,735 | $98,379 |
| Sector 81 | 7,686 | 1,390 | $56,950 |
The largest sector is the biggest private employer group at 33,992 jobs, 16.4 percent of covered employment. Average pay per job sits below median household income, so households here typically need more than one earner.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
Sonoma County
How many businesses are in Sonoma County?
- Establishments, all industries14,572
- Employment at those establishments177,367
- Annual payroll$12.28 bn
- Establishments per 1,000 residents30.0
These are counts of establishments physically operating in the county, not listings, so they are the supply side a feasibility study measures demand against.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Sonoma County
Building permits in Sonoma County
- Housing units authorised by permit, 20241,012
- Declared construction value permitted$293.8 m
- Single family units authorised832
- Multifamily units authorised180
- Multifamily share of units17.8 percent
- Average declared value per unit$290,279
- Units authorised per 1,000 households5.3
Multifamily is 17.8 percent of units authorised, so the pipeline is predominantly for sale product.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Sonoma County
SBA loans in Sonoma County (7(a) and 504)
- 7(a) approvals recorded555
- 7(a) gross approval dollars$348.2 m
- Average 7(a) approval$627,332
- Median 7(a) approval$300,000
- 10th percentile approval$50,000
- 90th percentile approval$1,657,000
- Largest single approval$5,000,000
- Jobs reported supported, 7(a)6,153
- Jobs per approval11.1
- Distinct 7(a) lenders active71
- Distinct industries receiving approvals200
- Median 7(a) term120 months
- Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer20.0 percent
- Loans on real estate terms111
- Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter414
- Franchise loans37
- Franchise share of approvals6.7 percent
- Leading industry by approval countFull-Service Restaurants (30)
- Most active lenderRedwood CU (66)
- 504 approvals recorded436
- 504 gross approval dollars$355.1 m
- Average 504 approval$814,415
- Median 504 approval$549,000
- Distinct CDCs active12
- 504 jobs per approval9.1
- 504 jobs per million dollars approved11.2
- Most active CDCBay Area Employment Development Company (175)
- 7(a) share of SBA approvals56.0 percent
- Combined SBA approval dollars$703.3 m
The average approval of $627,332 sits well above the median of $300,000, so a small number of large deals is pulling the mean up. The median is the better guide to what a typical borrower here actually gets. Only 20.0 percent of approvals run on real estate terms, so SBA credit here is mostly working capital and equipment rather than property acquisition.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30. US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Sonoma County
SBA loan default and charge-off rates in Sonoma County
Do SBA loans in Sonoma County get paid back?
- Loans with a final outcome recorded92
- Paid in full85
- Charged off7
- Charge off rate on resolved loans7.6 percent
- Status: Paid in full85
- Status: Cancelled53
- Status: Exempt from disclosure389
- Status: Charged off7
- Status: Committed, not yet disbursed21
Of the 92 loans that have reached a final outcome, 7.6 percent were charged off. This is computed only over resolved loans, because a loan still running has not yet succeeded or failed and counting it either way would be wrong.
Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Sonoma County
SBA lending by place in Sonoma County
- Places in the county with recorded lending24
- SANTA ROSA, approvals227
- PETALUMA, approvals89
- Rohnert Park, approvals43
- SONOMA, approvals41
- SEBASTOPOL, approvals35
- HEALDSBURG, approvals34
| Place | Approvals | Gross approval dollars |
|---|---|---|
| SANTA ROSA | 227 | $146,293,000 |
| PETALUMA | 89 | $50,871,100 |
| Rohnert Park | 43 | $19,497,800 |
| SONOMA | 41 | $20,410,700 |
| SEBASTOPOL | 35 | $17,444,500 |
| HEALDSBURG | 34 | $27,818,800 |
| Windsor | 25 | $9,578,800 |
| Cotati | 16 | $8,831,800 |
SANTA ROSA accounts for 227 approvals against 89 in PETALUMA. County level figures average over that gap, which is why a site decision is made at the submarket rather than the county.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Sonoma County
How large is Sonoma County?
- Land area1,576 sq mi
- Rank by land area among California counties29th of 58
- Width, east to west62.6 mi
- Height, north to south51.3 mi
- Geographies sharing a boundary5
- Residents per square mile of land308
- Establishments per square mile9.25
US Census Bureau county boundary geometry, TIGER, adjacency computed from shared boundary vertices, TIGER county boundaries. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year. US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Sonoma County
Flood risk in Sonoma County
- Communities in the NFIP Community Status Book10
- Of those, participating in the NFIP10
- NFIP participation rate100.0 percent
- Best Community Rating System class in the county A lower CRS class is a larger flood insurance premium discount.Class 6
- Communities carrying a CRS class2
- Radon levels in Sonoma County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/LZone 3
The EPA places Sonoma County in radon zone 3, a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. The best Community Rating System class in Sonoma County is 6, which carries a flood insurance premium discount for policies written in that community. 100.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Community Status Book, Community Status Book, as retrieved.
FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Community Status Book, Community Status Book, as retrieved. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Every item below could be filled with a plausible figure. None of them is. On a page a lender may read, a number that cannot be traced is worse than an absence, so the absences are named.
- Flood zone record counts are not held. The flood coverage export has not landed, so no count is shown rather than an estimated one.
- Traffic counts resolve in the platform, not in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here.
- Zoning is in build. Parcel level zoning is not published on this page.
Feasibility studies
When a Sonoma County site needs a document a lender will accept.
The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a Sonoma County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.
- Population485,040
- Households190,998
- Average household size2.54
- Median household income$104,674
- Median age42.9
Common questions
Sonoma County questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Sonoma County, California?
485,040, in 190,998 households, ranking 17th of 58 California counties. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Is Sonoma County's population growing?
The population has fallen 0.71 percent since the 2020 census base. In 2024 there were 4,240 births against 4,393 deaths, with net migration of 2,143. Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
What is the median household income in Sonoma County?
$104,674. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $815,500, which is 7.8 times income, and median gross rent is $2,158 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
How many businesses are in Sonoma County?
14,572 establishments, employing 177,367 people with an annual payroll of $12.28 bn. These are establishments physically operating in the county, not listings. Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
What is the average wage in Sonoma County?
Average annual pay is $71,422, or $1,373 a week, across 206,849 covered jobs. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
How much SBA lending happens in Sonoma County?
555 7(a) approvals totalling $348.2 m since FY2020, across 71 lenders, with a median approval of $300,000, plus 436 504 approvals worth $355.1 m. These are approvals recorded in the release, not loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans in Sonoma County get paid back?
Of the 92 loans that have reached a final outcome, 85 were paid in full and 7 charged off, a charge off rate of 7.6 percent. Loans still running are excluded, because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
How many building permits were issued in Sonoma County?
1,012 housing units were authorised by permit in 2024, with a declared construction value of $293.8 m. Multifamily was 17.8 percent of units. Source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
What is the radon zone for Sonoma County?
Zone 3, a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L. Source: US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Where do people moving to Sonoma County come from?
The largest single origin is Sonoma County Non-migrants, with 203,294 households. Arriving households report an average income of $142,818 against null for those leaving. Source: US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Are traffic counts available for Sonoma County on this page?
No. Annual average daily traffic resolves in the platform rather than in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here. It is a gap we know about rather than a figure we estimated.
Is zoning published for Sonoma County?
Not yet. The zoning layer is in build. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning, and where a statutory framework applies it is marked as the statewide frame with confirm locally attached.
Sonoma County
Cities and places in Sonoma.
38 Census places lie wholly or partly in Sonoma County. 37 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked. The rest are named here and not linked, because the American Community Survey and the SBA record between them do not carry enough about them to write an honest page. A place existing is itself worth knowing, so nothing in the county is left out.
| Place | Type | Population | SBA approvals | Lies in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa | city | 177,090 | 229 | Wholly in this county |
| Petaluma | city | 59,247 | 90 | Wholly in this county |
| Rohnert Park | city | 44,575 | 43 | Wholly in this county |
| Windsor | town | 26,081 | 25 | Wholly in this county |
| Healdsburg | city | 11,243 | 34 | Wholly in this county |
| Sonoma | city | 10,670 | 41 | Wholly in this county |
| Cloverdale | city | 8,886 | 7 | Wholly in this county |
| Larkfield-Wikiup | CDP | 8,765 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Cotati | city | 7,489 | 16 | Wholly in this county |
| Sebastopol | city | 7,445 | 35 | Wholly in this county |
| Boyes Hot Springs | CDP | 7,247 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Guerneville | CDP | 4,100 | 8 | Wholly in this county |
| Forestville | CDP | 3,717 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| El Verano | CDP | 3,443 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente | CDP | 3,347 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Sonoma State University | CDP | 2,210 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Penngrove | CDP | 2,119 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| Graton | CDP | 1,806 | 2 | Wholly in this county |
| Temelec | CDP | 1,628 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Eldridge | CDP | 1,379 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Sea Ranch | CDP | 1,287 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Occidental | CDP | 1,225 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| Bodega Bay | CDP | 1,139 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Glen Ellen | CDP | 1,078 | 7 | Wholly in this county |
| Kenwood | CDP | 1,028 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| Monte Rio | CDP | 876 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| Petaluma Center | CDP | 763 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Geyserville | CDP | 672 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| Cazadero | CDP | 483 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Fulton | CDP | 453 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Bloomfield | CDP | 324 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Timber Cove | CDP | 199 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Bodega | CDP | 134 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Sereno del Mar | CDP | 101 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Carmet | CDP | 85 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Salmon Creek | CDP | 40 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Jenner | CDP | 18 | 2 | Wholly in this county |
| Valley Ford | CDP | 0 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
A further 1,361 SBA approvals in Sonoma County are recorded against borrower cities that match no Census place, the largest being San Francisco, Duncans Mills, Annapolis. Those are postal cities and unincorporated areas rather than incorporated places, so no page claims them, and their lending is counted in this county's totals above rather than under any city.