Census-designated place · Mariposa County, California

Yosemite Valley, California

Yosemite Valley is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California. It has 1,991 residents. Yosemite Valley, California has a quality-of-life score of 36 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,948 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #543 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on public EV charging ports (high), broadband subscriptions (high) and drought exposure (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), pharmacies (low) and high school diploma or higher (low).

36Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,948 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #543 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 1,991 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 967.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 0686912

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety55#7,034/15,637
Economy23#11,963/15,631
Housing—
Health50#7,840/15,609
Healthcare19#12,649/15,650
Environment55#6,951/15,453
Education16#13,210/15,649
Infrastructure78#3,374/15,650
Community32#10,680/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,372/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Yosemite Valley, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Mariposa County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Public EV charging ports · high70.9 /10k
100/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyMariposa County value
Broadband subscriptions · high100.0%
99/100California 93.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMariposa County value
Public libraries · high3.0 /10k
96/100California 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMariposa County value
Grocery stores · high3.0 /10k
94/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMariposa County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100California 3.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMariposa County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low25.0%
3/100California 41.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMariposa County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
5/100California 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMariposa County value
High school diploma or higher · low91.5%
6/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Access to exercise opportunities · low44.8%
8/100California 94.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMariposa County value
Natural hazard risk · high89.3
10/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMariposa County value
Mammography screening · low37.0%
11/100California 38.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMariposa County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,169 (2015-2019) → 1,991 (2020-2024)
+70%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
22.4% (2015-2019) → 58.6% (2020-2024)
+36 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
9.5 min (2015-2019) → 23.1 min (2020-2024)
+142%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
9.0% (2015-2019) → 32.7% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
8.2% (2015-2019) → 21.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
88.5% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Yosemite Valley, California improved on 0 of 6 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 5 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Commute+13.5 min9.5 min → 23.1 min

All 6 measures

Change of every measure of Yosemite Valley, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	9.5 min2015-2019	23.1 min2020-2024	+13.5 min	Declined	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.4%2015-2019	34.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Broadband subscriptions	88.5%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	81.0%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3032015-2019	0.3562020-2024	+0.054	Within the margin of error	15%
Poverty rate	16.4%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	14%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 10944 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Yosemite Valley, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Yosemite Valley, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Yosemite Valley, California five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Yosemite Valley, California itself moved +3.9 points in standing on average over the same 5 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,991 residents (±153)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

157 households (±92)

Yosemite Valley, California
California share

Under $25k15%†23
$25k–50k44%†69
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

157 households (±92)

Yosemite Valley, California
California share

Own0.0%0
Rent100%†157

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,628 workers (±237)

Yosemite Valley, California
California share

Drive alone33%†533
Carpool19%†306
Public transit

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Mariposa County, the county holding most of Yosemite Valley's residents.

Mariposa County has 359 employer establishments, 212 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.81× California's), with 2,609 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,293. The Census Bureau also counts 1,428 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 359; 1,428 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 212; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 2,609
Average annual pay: $47,293; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Mariposa County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	37	21.8	1.41×More than typical	135	$68,089	112
Construction of buildings	26	15.4	2.03×More than typical	82	$49,683	74
Restaurants and other eating places	26	15.4	0.84×About typical	279	$30,308	7
Ambulatory health care services	24	14.2	0.68×Fewer than typical	130	$66,615	67
Lessors of real estate	22	13	1.05×About typical	85	$50,788	119
Traveler accommodation	18	10.6	5.89×More than typical	574	$35,469	42
Building equipment contractors	16	9.4	1.57×More than typical	35	$54,943	22
Full-service restaurants	13	7.7	1.00×About typical	189	$32,185	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	7.1	1.05×About typical	31	$36,097	131
Religious organizations	11	6.5	1.17×About typical	31	$23,710	—
Gasoline stations	9	5.3	1.64×Too few to compare	42	$38,333	—
Individual and family services	9	5.3	1.90×Too few to compare	61	$36,689	6

Rank places for an industry Open Mariposa County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 16,934 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Yosemite Valley is mostly in Mariposa County.

See federal money in Mariposa County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Yosemite Valley, California is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Tom McClintockR-CA-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 3.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Mariposa County45100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Mariposa County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0686912

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends