2025 Compare Cities Economy:
San Rafael, CA vs Lake Forest, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Lake Forest, is 12% more than it is in San Rafael and is 41% above the National Average.
- San Rafael unemployment rate is 4.7%.
- Lake Forest unemployment rate is 5.6%.
 San Rafael, CALake Forest, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.6%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.6%1.6%
 Future Job Growth33.1%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$61,962  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$117,374$69,021
 Family Median Income$135,862  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 San Rafael, CALake Forest, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock4.9%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock2.9%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K4.5%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock4.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.1%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.9%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.0%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock19.0%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.3%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock22.5%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 San Rafael, CALake Forest, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance20.2%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock11.3%6.5%
 Community, social services1.8%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.4%1.2%
 Education, library5.6%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.8%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.1%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock4.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance5.7%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.1%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.7%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair7.0%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.8%13.1%
Reviews for San Rafael    7 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

San Rafael is only 30 minutes from downtown San Francisco, but the weather is completely different. It's sunny most of the year, including in the summer when the city  More

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Over 15 years ago

I feal very safe in this town. I think getting stopped for talking on your cell phone while driving is a big deal here. Thats about all I can  More

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Over 17 years ago

Cost of living too high. Unfriendly  More

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Reviews for Lake Forest    16 Reviews

I've lived in Lake Forest for over a decade, before that elsewhere in OC and also up in LA. Lake Forest isn't perfect but it's really improved over the past decade,  More

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As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes  More

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I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of  More

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