About 55 miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is where eclectic urban communities meet the natural beauty of Sonoma County Wine Country. “Santa Rosa is largely tied to the wine country—that’s what attracts people from around the world,” says Michael Ferl, owner of Hiraeth Homes Real Estate and Santa Rosa resident of 23 years. “It really does have a little bit of everything.” A hub for agriculture and viticulture since the1850s, Santa Rosa is also the county's municipal center. The city's also become a home base for San Francisco and Silicon Valley commuters seeking lower home prices and a slower, more rural lifestyle without sacrificing urban amenities. “I like to say people here are like techie mushroom foragers,” laughs Elena Karakozoff, a Sonoma County local and Realtor with Compass. “They might work for Apple but enjoy going mushroom foraging in the mountains whenever it rains. It's still very much a farming town, though, where the air is so clean—and just feels different.” Downtown's art and historic districts are within a few miles of rolling wineries, flat farmlands and redwood forests.
Railroad Square is a popular attraction for restaurants in Santa Rosa.
The Apple store is a technology destination in Santa Rosa.
Ledson Castle Vineyard is an iconic destination in Santa Rosa.
Students of Junior College unwind together with laughter in Santa Rosa..
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Locally owned businesses and wineries around Santa Rosa
As Santa Rosa has grown, its many locally owned businesses have helped it retain a small-town character. “‘Local’ is one of the best words for your business around here,” says Summer Stubblefield, a Sonoma County local and Realtor with Compass. “With all the farms and wineries, people like to know that everything’s locally sourced and grown.”
Downtown Santa Rosa, centered around Old Courtyard Square, is home to mom-and-pop shops, as well as local restaurants, bars and breweries; the Russian River Brewing Company here is among the most famous in the country for its signature Triple IPA Pliny the Younger. Around 2 miles east, Montgomery Village is the city’s only outdoor shopping mall and offers regional chains, toy and book shops, and beloved mainstays like the Mediterranean restaurant Monti’s. A mile west of downtown, Historic Railroad Square is studded with popular Italian, Jewish and Asian eateries. “This used to be rougher part of town where there wasn’t much, but now you need a reservation to get into most of these places,” says Joshua Bouffier, a Broker with Coldwell Banker Realty.
Santa Rosa is also famous for the wineries that surround it, including Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens and Saint Francis Winery and Vineyards. “Because of the hillsides and mists from the Petaluma Gap, you can get rich French and Italian varietals all around Santa Rosa and the Valley of the Moon,” says Dave Collins, a Sonoma County local and Realtor with Century 21 Epic Wine Country.
Santa Rosa nightlife comes alive in the Old Courthouse Square area.
The Montgomery Village mall is filled with boutiques, restaurants and shops in Santa Rosa.
The Kendall-Jackson Wine Center near Santa Rosa offers tastings of the legendary brand.
Enjoy a salad at Americana in Santa Rosa next to the mall.
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Arts markets and harvest festivals throughout the year
Santa Rosa is also known for its arts scene. Statues of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the “Peanuts” gang are scattered about town, paying tribute to “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz, a longtime Santa Rosa local. In the Juilliard Park neighborhood, the South A Street Arts District (locally known as SoFA) is lined with colorful art galleries; each November, local artists fill South A Street with lit-up couches for the WinterBlast Parade.
Throughout the summer, the Wednesday Night Market fills Old Courtyard Square with local farmers, artisans and food vendors, and in October, the Art and Wine Festival here pairs local wines and works by regional artists. At the old Sonoma County Fairgrounds, the Artisan Cheese Festival in March celebrates the county’s artisan cheesemaking community, and each August, the Sonoma County Fair attracts thousands with attractions like carnival rides, rodeo and a splashy flower show with large-scale scenes made from local blooms.
The Sonoma County Library is a great resource for people in Santa Rosa.
You will love all the fun Juilliard Park art murals in Santa Rosa..
Fresh produce is always a hot item at the Santa Rosa Night Market.
Santa Rosa goes wild for their favorite artists at the Country Summer Music Festival.
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Competitive housing market with near Marin County
As of late 2024, Santa Rosa’s median home price is around $750,000, compared to $926,000 in Petaluma (the county's southernmost city), just over $1 million in Marin County's Novato and $1.375 million in San Francisco. Though Santa Rosa’s housing market has grown increasingly competitive in recent years, most homes here stay on the market for an average of 52 days, compared to the national average of 44. “More and more people are moving up this way even though prices are rising, because everything to the south is even more pricey,” Bouffier explains. “But things can be slow to sell because, for some, Santa Rosa is just too far from San Francisco, so they’d rather be somewhere like Marin County.”
Highway 101 and State Route 12 split the city into four distinct areas. The northeastern corner of the city is popular for its Craftsman bungalows and Queen Anne-style homes from late 19th and early 20th centuries; both styles often range from $500,000 to $1.2 million, depending on the number of bedrooms and quality of preservation. In the city's northwest, ranch-style homes from the 1950s through ‘90s and 21st-century new traditional homes are common; collectively, these range from $500,000 to $800,000, largely depending on size. The southwest is comprised of apartment and townhouse complexes, and the southeast corner is known for its broad range of lower-priced housing options. “The southwest is the most affordable area, but there are some stigmas around it,” says Ferl. "There have been a lot of developments over the years, though, so some of those stigmas are slowly starting to change.” Manufactured homes from the 1970s through 2020s are common in this area; prices start at $70,000 for older single-wides and go up to $350,000 for newer double-wides.
You will enjoy the amenities and nature surrounding Santa Rosa.
Queen-Anne homes are common in the McDonald District of Santa Rosa.
Some Santa Rosa streets look straight out of the 50's with their mid-century ranch homes.
Santa Rosa offers new developments for home owners to choose from.
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Parks, open spaces and wildfires in Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa is surrounded by rolling hills and filled with public parks. Finley Community Park is among the city’s newest greenspaces; the community center and sports facilities here make it equally popular for senior events and youth sports. Howarth Park spans nearly 140 acres on the city’s eastern edge, its oak-shaded trails and central lake making it a hotspot for joggers and fishers. Spring Lake Park and Trione-Annadel State Park branch off Howarth Park, giving residents access to mountain lagoons and redwood forests. Off-street trails like the Prince Memorial Greenway link neighborhoods to additional parks and shopping areas, and golf courses invite athletes to hit the range among area wineries. "Bodega Bay also only around 40 minutes away," says Binyam Mesfun, a Santa Rosa local and owner of The Rillest clothing brand. "It's not the sort of beach you go swimming at, but the rocks, the forests, the beautiful houses — it's something you've got to see."
Although all the forests and wineries surrounding Santa Rosa are an area draw, they leave the city vulnerable to wildfires. The most recent major wildfire to impact the Santa Rosa was the Tubbs Fire in 2017. Starting in Calistoga, the Tubbs Fire burnt over 36,000 acres, destroying over 3,000 homes, taking the lives of 22 people and reaching the northern neighborhoods of the Santa Rosa. “It looked downright apocalyptic,” says Drake Delzell, a Sonoma County local and Realtor with RE/MAX Marketplace. “It practically destroyed Fountaingrove. Everyone expected it to stop at the 101, but then it leapt six lanes of traffic and completely leveled Coffee Park.” Since then, Coffee Park and Fountaingrove have seen new residential developments, and Sonoma County has worked on a 10 Priority Projects list to help prevent and mitigate future wildfires.
Cool off at Finley Community Park pool in Lincoln Manor, Santa Rosa.
Spring Lake Park has an abundance of kayaks for rent in Santa Rosa.
Prince Gateway Park has beautiful art all around in Santa Rosa.
The Bodega Head beach near Santa Rosa is a beautiful spot to watch the waves roll in.
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Santa Rosa City Schools
Santa Rosa City Schools is the largest school district in Sonoma County, serving around 16,000 students and split into two sub-districts. The Santa Rosa Elementary School District earns a B-minus from Niche and serves elementary school students in the southeast and southwest quadrants of the city, while the Santa Rosa High School District earns a B-plus and serves middle and high school students throughout the city. Elementary school students in the city's southeast are served by the A-rated Bennett Valley Union School District, while those in the northeast are served by the A-minus-rated Rincon Valley Union Elementary School District; both districts feed into the Santa Rosa High School District.
Santa Rosa Junior College is a two-year university known for feeding into the University of California school system. Offering over 110 fields of study, the Junior College is also popular among locals for its baseball and basketball teams, and its student-run theatrical productions at the Luther Burbank Theatre.
Highways, trains and ferries to San Francisco
Highway 101 (known locally as the 101), runs north-south through the center of Santa Rosa, leading 55 miles south to San Francisco and often heavy with traffic during morning and evening rush hour. San Francisco-bound commuters can skip the traffic with the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train, which takes passengers to the Larkspur Ferry. Near the southern end of Santa Rosa, State Route 12 (locally known as Highway 12, or the 12) runs east-west across the 101, leading 22 miles east to the city of Sonoma and 7 miles west to Sebastopol.
Inner-city trails and broad bike lanes make Northeast Santa Rosa pedestrian-friendly, but residents in most other areas must rely on cars to get around. Northeast Santa Rosa is home to numerous hospitals, including the Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center. Around 8 miles north, the tiny, regional Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport is known for its “Charlie Brown” theme. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is about 65 miles south and Oakland International Airport (OAK) is 67 miles south; Groome Transportation buses travel to both from a stop near the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds.
Relatively low crime rates
According to FBI data, Santa Rosa’s property crime rate in 2023 was about 1,490 reported incidents per 100,000 people, lower than the national rate of 1,827. During the same year, Santa Rosa’s violent crime rate was 333 reported incidents per 100,000 people, also lower than the national rate of 359. In the early 2000s, Santa Rosa experienced a surge in gang-related violent crime in the southwest quadrant of the city; this led to the creation of the Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force (now Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership) that works with communities throughout the city to support youths susceptible to joining gangs. Since reaching a peak in 2005, reported incidents of violent crime have dropped over 57%. “Some people say that Santa Rosa is unsafe, but my family and I have never had any issues,” says Ferl. “Safety is very important to my wife and I since we have young children, so we wouldn’t still be here if it was unsafe.”
Raised in Sonoma County, Amy Ahlers has a deep-rooted knowledge of the local real estate market and a vast network of connections that make her an invaluable resource for buyers and sellers alike. Her extensive background in planning and executing high-profile events honed her ability to manage complex logistics, anticipate challenges, and provide an exceptional level of service—skills that seamlessly translated into her career as a full-time Realtor®.
Since launching her real estate business in 2019, Amy has built a reputation for her dedication, strategic approach, and ability to navigate competitive markets with confidence. She takes the time to truly understand her clients' needs, working tirelessly to help them achieve their real estate goals—whether it's purchasing a first home, finding the perfect investment property, or making a seamless transition to a new chapter. Her meticulous attention to detail, strong negotiation skills, and genuine care for her clients set her apart in the industry.
When she’s not working, Amy loves to spend time with her “Brady Bunch” sized family, as well as her pets (a rescue pup and a bunny!). She volunteers at her children’s school both in the classroom and as a part of the Parent Teacher Organization. She loves working out at a boutique pilates studio in Petaluma, and you will often find her traveling with her girls to dance competitions, out on the football field cheering on her stepson, or relaxing with her family at their “Lake Escape” at Blue Lake.
Amy considers it an honor to guide her clients through one of life’s most significant milestones—buying or selling a home—and she takes immense pride in making the process smooth, stress-free, and rewarding.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
