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Sonoma County CA Real Estate & Homes For Sale

Sonoma County is the North Bay county running from the Pacific coast to the Napa County line, where nine cities set their own rules and Permit Sonoma handles the coast, Russian River towns and most of Sonoma Valley. Water sources, flood and fire hazards and vacation rental rules vary by community.

También puede consultar nuestra guía de bienes raíces en Sonoma en español, que explica la diferencia entre la ciudad y el condado.

Browse Sonoma County, CA real estate and homes for sale below, then use this guide to check what matters before you buy or sell.

At a glance
County	Sonoma County (North Bay)
Local government	9 cities; Permit Sonoma for unincorporated areas
Water and sewer	City and district systems; septic common outside sewered towns
Housing	Second homes on the coast, river cabins, city homes, vineyard and rural land
Hazards to check	Russian River flooding; fire hazard zones; coastal zone areas
Getting around	US 101, SMART train to Windsor, MTA Route 95 on the coast
Local rules	Santa Rosa and Petaluma city transfer tax; Williamson Act; VR limits in R1

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Sonoma County is the North Bay county that runs from the Pacific coast east to the Napa County line, with Santa Rosa as its county seat and 486,444 residents by the Census Bureau’s July 2025 estimate. Nine cities set their own rules; the coast, the Russian River towns and most of Sonoma Valley follow county rules.

The median sale price was $875,000 in September 2026, up 10.1% in a year (C.A.R.). Homes range from city subdivisions and redwood river cabins to coastal association communities and vineyard land, and town medians run from $475,000 in Monte Rio to $1,749,167 in Bodega Bay.

County seat: Santa Rosa
Population: 486,444 (July 2025, Census estimate)
Incorporated cities: 9
Median sale price: $875,000 (Sept 2026, C.A.R.)
Owner-occupied homes: 62.6% (ACS 2020–2024)

Browse homes Discuss your search

Sonoma County homes for sale

Current MLS listings from across the county appear below, from Cloverdale to Penngrove and from The Sea Ranch to Sonoma Valley. Use our property search to filter by town, price or acreage, or open a town guide from the comparison table.

What do homes in Sonoma County sell for?

Median sale price

$875,000

September 2026, up 10.1% in a year, C.A.R.

Three-month median

$808,191

3 months to September 2026, up 6.6%, Redfin

Median days on market

September 2026, 57 a year earlier, Redfin

Prices rose and homes sold faster, though fewer closed. The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) one-month median ran about $67,000 above Redfin’s three-month figure, which smooths out the mix of homes that happened to close, so read the 10% jump with some caution. On C.A.R.’s numbers the county sits below the statewide median and Napa County, and at about half of Marin.

Measure	Figure	Period and source
Sonoma County median sale price	$875,000 (up 10.1%)	September 2026, C.A.R.
Change in closed sales	Down 3.4%	September 2026 vs. 2025, C.A.R.
Homes sold; price per square foot	386 (409 a year earlier); $495, up 3.6%	September 2026, Redfin
Sale-to-list ratio; sold above list	100.3%; 38.3%	September 2026, Redfin
California, Napa and Marin medians	$899,720; $918,000; $1,678,750	September 2026, C.A.R.
Santa Rosa, the largest market	$716,000; 423 sales in August	3 months to August 2026, Redfin
Median value of owner-occupied homes	$815,500	2020–2024, Census ACS
Median gross rent	$2,158 a month	2020–2024, Census ACS

The Census value reflects owners’ own estimates over five years, so it trails sales. Quarterly figures by town are in our Sonoma County market report.

Sonoma County towns and areas compared

This table covers every Sonoma County town guide on our site, with the latest price we could verify for the town or its ZIP code. Where sales are too few for a median, we say so rather than estimate. “Unincorporated” means Permit Sonoma, the county’s planning agency, issues permits.

Town	Setting	Typical property	Latest price figure	Government
Annapolis	North coast ridges	Rural homes and land; no listed water or sewer provider	Too few sales; Census home value $716,900 (ZIP 95412, 2020–24)	Unincorporated
Bodega Bay	Harbor village, Highway 1	Homes around the harbor and along Highway 1; 725-unit Bodega Harbour community	$1,749,167 (Sept 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated; Coastal Zone
Camp Meeker	Redwood canyon, Bohemian Highway	Small cottages on district water and septic	Too few sales; two listings at $379K–$399K (Oct 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Cazadero	Austin Creek hills	Rural homes and acreage	Too few sales: one, $405,000 (3 mo. to Sept 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Cloverdale	Far north, near the Mendocino line	City lots on city water and sewer	$589,219 (3 mo. to Sept 2026, Redfin)	City
Cotati	South County	Streets around a six-sided plaza; mobile home parks; new rentals	$759,671 (ZIP 94931, 3 mo. to Aug 2026, Redfin)	City (1963)
Duncans Mills	Lower river near the coast	1880s depot village, a County Historic District	Too few sales (ZIP 95430, Redfin)	Unincorporated; Coastal Zone
Forestville	River edge of West County	District-water town center plus river neighborhoods	$631,000 (ZIP 95436, 3 mo. to June 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Fulton	Central county	Homes and rural parcels; some with Santa Rosa 95403 addresses	Too few sales (ZIP 95439, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Geyserville	Alexander Valley, Highway 128	Village with vineyard and ranch land around it	$900,000 on three sales (3 mo. to Sept 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Glen Ellen	Mid–Sonoma Valley	Village homes and rural parcels	$1,554,327 (ZIP 95442, Aug 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Graton	West County	Village homes on district sewer; water varies by parcel	Few sales; Census home value $878,100 (2020–24)	Unincorporated
Guerneville	Russian River	River homes and cabins; about 30% of units not a usual residence	$557,374 (ZIP 95446, 3 mo. to June 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Healdsburg	North County, Russian River	In-town homes under a growth cap; vineyard land around town	$1,049,500 (Sept 2026, Redfin)	City
Jenner	Mouth of the Russian River	Small-lot homes on steep roads, platted in 1914	$1.2 million, few sales (ZIP 95450, 3 mo. to June 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated; Coastal Zone
Kenwood	Northern Sonoma Valley	Village homes and rural parcels on wells or small water companies	Too few sales: about 22 a year (ATTOM, Oct 2026)	Unincorporated
Monte Rio	Lower Russian River	River homes: 774 housing units for 470 households	$475,000 (3 mo. to Aug 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Occidental	West County redwoods	Village houses on a small sewer district; rural houses on septic	$1,379,688 (ZIP 95465, 3 mo. to June 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Penngrove	South County, outside Petaluma	Village lots to 20-acre farm parcels	About $1.4 million, few sales (ZIP 94951, 3 mo. to Aug 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Rio Nido	River canyons by Guerneville	Homes on steep canyon roads, mostly R1 zoning	Too few sales: one (3 mo. to Sept 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated
Rohnert Park	South County, on the SMART line	1960s planned neighborhoods; new homes at SOMO Village	$705,000 (ZIP 94928, 3 mo. to Aug 2026, Redfin)	City (1962)
Santa Rosa	Central county; county seat	Every type, from Fountaingrove hillsides to historic districts	$716,000 (3 mo. to Aug 2026, Redfin)	City
Sebastopol	West County	In-town homes on city wells; rural land outside the city	$1,071,541 (city, Aug 2026, Redfin)	City (1902)
Sonoma	South end of Sonoma Valley	City lots around the 1835 Plaza	$1,049,306 (3 mo. to Aug 2026, Redfin)	City
The Sea Ranch	Northern coast	Association homes and lots: 1,782 homes, 410 lots (2022)	$1.5 million (ZIP 95497, 3 mo. to Aug 2026, Redfin)	Unincorporated; association rules
Valley Ford	Southwest corner, Estero Americano	1870s–80s village among dairy ranches	Too few sales: two recent (Redfin, Oct 2026)	Unincorporated; Coastal Zone
Windsor	North County, Highway 101	Mostly owner-occupied homes (75.6%); growth since the early 1980s	$814,761 (ZIP 95492, 3 mo. to Sept 2026, Redfin)	Town (1992)

Most figures are Redfin’s three-month medians, and in small places they rest on a handful of sales. Use them to place a town in the county’s range, then price a specific home from closed MLS sales of similar properties.

The regions of Sonoma County

These groupings are ours, drawn from geography rather than official districts. Within each, water sources, hazards and rules shape a purchase more than the town name does.

Sonoma Coast

The coast is the county’s second-home market: in May 2021 the county counted about 581 vacation rentals registered for hotel tax in its Coastal Zone, 328 at The Sea Ranch and 205 in Bodega Bay. Utilities differ by community. The Sea Ranch has its own water company and fiber network, Bodega Bay has a public utility district formed in 1948, and the county lists no provider for Annapolis. Jenner sits at the river mouth and Valley Ford near the Marin line. Sonoma Coast State Park runs 17 miles from Bodega Head to north of Jenner, and Mendocino Transit Authority Route 95 links the coast with Santa Rosa daily.

Lower Russian River

The river towns hold the county’s lowest prices and its clearest flood risk. Flood stage at the Guerneville gauge is 32 feet; the river crested at 49.5 feet in 1986 and 45.38 feet in February 2019 (NOAA). Sweetwater Springs Water District serves Guerneville, Monte Rio and Rio Nido from groundwater beside the river, and a county sanitation district sewers Guerneville and Rio Nido. Beyond it, plan on septic: the county lists no sewer provider for Duncans Mills or Cazadero. Forestville has its own water district. New vacation rentals have been barred in R1 zoning, which covers most of Rio Nido, since August 2022.

West County

Gravenstein orchards covered 6,792 acres in 1952 and 684 by 2018, while county vineyard acreage grew from 13,463 to 62,782 (crop reports via the Sonoma Index-Tribune). Sebastopol, incorporated in 1902, runs its own wells and has a voter-approved growth boundary from 1996, but most of its 95472 ZIP code is unincorporated. Graton‘s district handles sewer (the county lists no water provider there), Occidental‘s runs water and the fire department, and Camp Meeker‘s park district supplies water to 365 homes with no public sewer. Paved trails link Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Graton and Forestville.

Northern Sonoma County

Windsor, Healdsburg, Geyserville and Cloverdale sit among the Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley appellations. Healdsburg limits new homes to an average of 30 a year and runs its own electric utility. Windsor is the northern end of the SMART line for now, and a Healdsburg station is planned for late 2028. The 2019 Kincade Fire started northeast of Geyserville and burned 77,758 acres.

Santa Rosa and the central county

Santa Rosa, with 179,437 residents, is three times the size of Petaluma, the next-largest city, and has almost every kind of housing in the county. The 2017 Tubbs Fire destroyed more than 3,000 homes in the city, about 5% of its housing, and in November 2017 the city annexed Roseland and four other county islands, about 714 acres. Just north, Fulton remains under county rules.

South County

Rohnert Park (1962) and Cotati (1963) share a school district and adjacent SMART stations. Rohnert Park’s SOMO Village was planned for 1,750 homes, and a 401-home downtown plan was submitted in September 2026; Cotati has approved about 300 rentals at Alder Avenue and Highway 116. Unincorporated Penngrove mixes village lots and farm parcels. Petaluma has no town guide on our site yet; our Petaluma agent guide covers it meanwhile.

Sonoma Valley

The City of Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood line Highway 12, with no SMART service; Sonoma County Transit Route 30 runs to Santa Rosa. The city has allowed no new vacation rentals since 2018 and fixed its growth boundary through 2040. The two largest planned projects are unincorporated: the Sonoma Developmental Center in Glen Ellen (a 620-home base; 990 applied for) and the Springs Specific Plan north of the city, with room for more than 700 homes. For the unincorporated communities north of the city, see The Springs: Boyes Hot Springs, Fetters and El Verano.

Which rules apply when you buy in Sonoma County?

The nine cities set their own zoning and rental rules; Permit Sonoma covers everywhere else. ZIP codes cross city lines, so check the parcel on the county’s Parcel Search, which also shows zoning, groundwater availability and any Williamson Act contract.

Transfer tax by city

Every sale pays the county’s documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000; only Santa Rosa and Petaluma add a city tax on top of it (Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder). The purchase contract decides who pays.

Where	Rate per $1,000	On an $875,000 sale
Unincorporated areas and the other six cities	$1.10 (county rate)	$962.50
Sebastopol	$1.10 in all (the city’s $0.55 share is counted inside the county’s $1.10)	$962.50
Santa Rosa	$3.10 ($1.10 county + $2.00 city)	$2,712.50
Petaluma	$3.10 ($1.10 county + $2.00 city)	$2,712.50

Under Proposition 13, the property tax rate is 1% of assessed value plus voter-approved bonds; the assessment resets to market value at a sale and then rises at most 2% a year (Board of Equalization).

Vacation rentals and hotel tax by jurisdiction

Jurisdiction	Short-term rental rule	Hotel tax (TOT)
Unincorporated county	Permit, certified manager, license and tax number; barred in R1–R3 zones, on Williamson Act land, in ADUs and in exclusion zones; 12 guests maximum	12%, plus 2% for operators over $350,000 a year
Santa Rosa	Hosted rentals allowed with a permit; no new non-hosted permits, and the 182 existing ones shrink as they lapse	11% since 2025, plus 3% assessment
Healdsburg	Use permit, license and yearly fire inspection; the city says most homes won’t qualify	14%, plus 2% assessment
Sebastopol	Hosted: administrative permit; non-hosted: use permit, which the city discourages	12%
Windsor	Town license (2023 ordinance, amended 2025): hosted rentals in residential districts; non-hosted only in certain commercial districts	12%
Cloverdale	Hosted rentals in neighborhoods, up to 120 days a year; the code places whole-home rentals in commercial zones, so confirm a specific house with the city	10%
Rohnert Park	Single rooms only, up to 14 consecutive days	12%
Cotati	No short-term rental program	10%, plus 2% assessment
Sonoma	No new vacation rentals since 2018, except reuse of a historic building	13%, plus 2% assessment

In the county’s exclusion (X) zones, an existing vacation-rental permit ends when the property sells. Check Permit Sonoma’s map before you count on rental income.

See our guide to Sonoma County vacation rental rules for licensing and caps.

Rent rules by city

State law (AB 1482) caps most rent increases at 5% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower, and exempts housing under 15 years old and many houses and condos owned by individuals who give written notice. Some jurisdictions add rules:

Jurisdiction	Local rule on top of state law
Unincorporated county	Just cause from the first day of a tenancy (Ordinance 6496, 2024); mobilehome space increases at 70% of inflation, 2.66% now
Petaluma	Just cause from the first day of the lease (since October 2022); no local rent cap
Santa Rosa	No apartment rent control: voters rejected the 2016 ordinance as Measure C in June 2017, so it never took effect; mobilehome increases capped at 4%, 1.75% now
Healdsburg	Extra relocation pay on no-fault evictions for households at or below 120% of county median income
Sebastopol	Temporary just cause for deed-restricted affordable units in projects of 40 or more units only, ending January 1, 2027; mobilehome cap
Cotati and Rohnert Park	Mobilehome space rent ordinances

In Windsor, Cloverdale and the City of Sonoma, ask the city about local ordinances. None of this is legal advice.

Fire hazard zones, AB 38 and insurance

Check fire zones address by address. CAL FIRE’s state responsibility area maps took effect April 1, 2024, and its local-area update, which covers the cities, came out February 24, 2025; cities could add zones but not remove them. In a High or Very High zone, AB 38 requires the seller to provide a defensible-space inspection from the prior six months, or the buyer agrees in writing to comply within a year (State Fire Marshal).

Fire	Started	Acres	Structures destroyed
Tubbs, 2017	Near Calistoga; burned into Santa Rosa	36,807	5,636
Nuns and grouped fires, 2017	Highway 12 north of Glen Ellen	44,573	1,355
Kincade, 2019	Northeast of Geyserville	77,758	374
Walbridge, 2020	Hills north of the lower river	55,209	Not in our source
Glass, 2020	Napa County, toward Kenwood and Santa Rosa	67,484	1,528

Acres and structures cover each fire’s whole footprint, including any part in Napa County. Figures are from CAL FIRE incident pages, except Walbridge, from a 2021 water-district hazard plan.

Get insurance quotes as soon as an offer is accepted. On rural and hillside parcels, the premium can decide whether the purchase works.

The market has eased: in May 2026 the Department of Insurance said six of the 10 largest insurers had committed to stay and grow, and the FAIR Plan added about 16,000 residential policies in the first quarter, against 35,000–50,000 a quarter from 2024 through September 2025.

Water, wells and septic

Many cities and districts buy Russian River water from Sonoma Water; Rohnert Park gets about 70% of its supply that way. Rural parcels rely on wells. The state approved groundwater plans for the Santa Rosa Plain, Petaluma Valley and Sonoma Valley in January 2023, and Sonoma Water says no basin here is critically overdrafted.

Wells: county rules tightened in May 2023, and permits for new homes in marginal or scarce water zones require a dry-weather well test.
Septic: about 37,000 systems serve the unincorporated county, and no inspection is required at sale, so order one. Near the Russian River, Petaluma River and Sonoma Creek, systems fall under stricter Tier 3 rules.
Sewer laterals: the Forestville Water District requires a private sewer lateral inspection after a sale (Ordinance 61).
ADUs: since January 8, 2026, county single-family lots can add a detached ADU of up to 1,200 square feet once septic or sewer capacity is approved.

Our guides to wells, septic and rural utilities and land, lots and ADUs go further.

Russian River flooding

The National Weather Service ties road closures to the Guerneville gauge: at 39 feet, Highway 116 closes west of Duncans Mills. The county warns that homeowner policies don’t cover floods and that a federal flood policy usually takes up to 30 days to start (Sonoma County Emergency Management), so buy coverage before the rainy season.

Farmland and the Williamson Act

Farm parcels may carry Williamson Act contracts: 10-year terms that renew automatically, or 20 years in a Farmland Security Zone, trading lower taxes for limits on use (Permit Sonoma). Contracts bind the next owner, cancelling one costs 12.5% of current market value, or 25% for a Farmland Security Zone (Department of Conservation), and contract land can’t host a vacation rental. New homes near agricultural zoning also need a recorded right-to-farm declaration.

The coastal zone

The Coastal Zone runs from the first coastal ridgeline to 3 miles offshore, and most county parcels aren’t in it. Those that are carry “CC” zoning and need a coastal permit for most development. The updated Local Coastal Plan took effect February 4, 2025, and the Coastal Commission hears appeals on projects within 300 feet of a beach or bluff edge or 100 feet of a wetland or stream (Permit Sonoma).

Luxury homes and estates in Sonoma County

In planning terms, Sonoma County’s estate market spans three kinds of land. Inside the nine cities, each city’s own zoning applies, such as Cloverdale’s R-R district, whose standards specify a 30-acre minimum for newly created lots; existing legal parcels can be smaller (Cloverdale Municipal Code §18.04.020). In the unincorporated county, estates usually sit on agricultural (LIA, LEA, DA), resource (RRD), timber (TP) or agriculture-and-residential and rural-residential (AR, RR) zoning, with combining districts such as SR (Scenic Resources), VOH (Valley Oak Habitat), RC (Riparian Corridor), G (Geologic Hazard Area) and HD (Historic) (Permit Sonoma: county zones). On the coast, a "CC" designation means the coastal zoning code and coastal permits apply (Permit Sonoma: zoning codes).

The due diligence that matters most on a high-value Sonoma County purchase:

Fire and insurance. Fire zone, AB 38 paperwork, rebuild permits and early quotes; see insuring a high-value home, the California FAIR Plan and home hardening.
Wells and septic on estate parcels, including any treatment system that needs an annual county operating permit; see wells, septic and rural utilities.
Permit history for guest houses, barns and additions; see homes with guest houses.
Easements and road agreements on shared private roads.
Williamson Act contracts, which bind the next owner (California Department of Conservation); see our Williamson Act guide.

Many estate owners prefer a quiet sale. Ask Diamond Real Estate Group which permitted private-marketing options fit your property, goals and the applicable MLS rules. Availability of any particular listing is not guaranteed. Related reading: private and off-market sales. Our Sonoma County luxury homes page, Sonoma luxury homes and family compounds go further; for auctions as a sale method, see luxury home auctions in California. We can’t promise that any particular property will be available.

Types of property for sale in Sonoma County

The county’s zoning code sorts land into agriculture, residential (RR, R1, R2, R3, AR), resources (TP, RRD), commercial, industrial and special districts (Permit Sonoma), and the cities zone their own land. For buyers, that translates into these property guides:

Sonoma County property tax, records and permits

Four county offices hold the records a buyer or seller needs:

Assessor: assessed values, parcel maps and the parcel search; ActiveMap adds zoning, floodplain and geologic hazard layers for the unincorporated county (County of Sonoma).
Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector: bills and payments (how to pay). Installments generally become delinquent after December 10 and April 10, subject to applicable holiday/weekend rules and the actual bill (Revenue and Taxation Code §2617, §2618), and a reassessable purchase may produce a supplemental bill or refund (supplemental taxes).
Clerk-Recorder: deeds and the documentary transfer tax (Clerk-Recorder).
Permit Sonoma: building, well, septic, zoning and coastal permits in the unincorporated county, with Parcel Search for zoning, groundwater availability and Williamson Act status. Inside a city, that city’s building department holds the permits.

Our Sonoma County property tax guide covers rates, exemptions and appeals.

Sonoma County real estate: questions people ask

Where can I find homes for sale in west Sonoma County?

West County takes in Sebastopol, Graton, Occidental, Forestville, Camp Meeker and nearby rural land; the river and coast towns sit beside it. Use the town guides linked above, or filter our property search by map, then check water, septic and fire zone for each parcel.

How do I choose a real estate agent in Sonoma County?

Verify the license on the California Department of Real Estate lookup, then ask how the agent handles jurisdiction, wells and septic, fire zones and vacation-rental rules. Diamond’s broker, Matthew Martinez (DRE #01869679), works with buyers and sellers across the county.

Can I buy a Sonoma County home that isn’t listed on the MLS?

Sometimes. Ask Diamond Real Estate Group which permitted private-marketing options fit your property, goals and the applicable MLS rules. Availability of any particular listing is not guaranteed. Start a search brief on our Sonoma County buying page.

Who handles permits in Sonoma County?

It depends on the parcel. Inside Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Windsor, the city’s building department issues permits. Everywhere else, Permit Sonoma does, and its Parcel Search shows zoning, groundwater availability and Williamson Act status for unincorporated parcels.

Does Sonoma County have a transfer tax?

Yes. Documentary transfer tax is collected through the Clerk-Recorder, and city charges and applicable exemptions must be checked for the transaction. The purchase contract decides who pays.

Where do I pay Sonoma County property taxes?

To the Sonoma County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector, online, by mail or in person (how to pay). The first installment is due November 1 and the second February 1; after a purchase, watch for a separate supplemental bill as well as the regular one.

Sources for this section

Permit Sonoma: County zones (non-coastal) — https://permitsonoma.org/zoningcodes/countyzones(non-cc)
Permit Sonoma: Zoning codes — https://permitsonoma.org/zoningcodes
Cloverdale Municipal Code ch. 18.04 (GoCodebook) — https://gocodebook.com/library/us/ca/cloverdale/title-18-zoning/chapter-18.04-residential-zoning-districts
California Department of Conservation: Williamson Act — https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/wa
County of Sonoma: Search Assessor’s parcel information — https://sonomacounty.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/clerk-recorder-assessor/assessor/real-property/search-parcel-info
County of Sonoma: How to pay your property taxes — https://sonomacounty.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/auditor-controller-treasurer-tax-collector/divisions/revenue-accounting/how-to-pay-your-property-taxes
California Revenue and Taxation Code §2617 and §2618 — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=2617
County of Sonoma: Supplemental property taxes — https://sonomacounty.gov/acttc-supplemental-property-taxes
County of Sonoma: Clerk-Recorder — https://sonomacounty.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/clerk-recorder-assessor/clerk-recorder
Permit Sonoma: Parcel Search — https://parcelsearch.permitsonoma.org/
California DRE: Public license lookup — https://www2.dre.ca.gov/PublicASP/pplinfo.asp
County of Sonoma Clerk-Recorder: Documentary transfer tax — https://sonomacounty.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/clerk-recorder-assessor/clerk-recorder/recorder-services/documentary-transfer-tax

Getting around Sonoma County

Highway 101 is the main north–south route, through Santa Rosa and Windsor among other cities (Caltrans). Highway 12 links Sebastopol, Santa Rosa and Sonoma Valley; Highway 116 follows the lower river; Highway 128 crosses Alexander Valley; Highway 1 follows the coast. The average commute is 25.1 minutes (Census, 2020–2024).

SMART train: eight county stations from Windsor to Downtown Petaluma, continuing to Larkspur, where a shuttle meets the ferry (SMART). Healdsburg is planned for late 2028; Cloverdale awaits funding.
Buses: Golden Gate Transit 172 and 172X run Santa Rosa–San Francisco. Sonoma County Transit Route 20 serves the river and Sebastopol, Route 30 Sonoma Valley and Route 60 the north county.
Airport: Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport lists Alaska, American, Delta and Southwest among its airlines, with nonstops including Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Denver (airport, October 2026), and has its own SMART station.

Wine and agriculture in Sonoma County

Sonoma County Winegrowers counts 19 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), with vineyards from sea level to 2,600 feet. The oldest, Sonoma Valley, dates from 1981 and the newest, West Sonoma Coast, from 2022. Our Sonoma County appellations guide maps them.

Grape prices have softened: the 2025 crush report put the Sonoma-Marin (District 3) average at $2,762.88 a ton, down 5.6%; the county valued its 2024 winegrapes at about $626.6 million, down 12.6%; and a growers’ study counted 2,700 bearing acres pulled between October 2024 and August 2025. On vineyard land, confirm the AVA from the federal boundary, ask for grape contracts and yields, and get the county’s vineyard permit (VESCO) before planting. See vineyards and wineries for sale, Sonoma County vineyard properties and ranch and acreage property.

How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Sonoma County buyers

We start with the parcel. Before you offer, we confirm the jurisdiction, zoning and fire zone; the water source and septic or sewer permits; any Williamson Act contract, coastal zoning or rental exclusion; and the flood history on river property. Then we read comparable sales for lot, access, water and condition, not only price.

How to buy a home in Sonoma County, from pre-approval to closing
Mortgages and affordability in Sonoma County
Buying a second home in Sonoma County
Sonoma County agents and brokerages, with DRE licenses linked

Selling first? See our seller services. Investors can start with investment property, estate buyers with Napa and Sonoma luxury real estate, and everyone with how we help buyers.

Sonoma County real estate FAQs

What is the median home price in Sonoma County?

C.A.R. reported $875,000 for September 2026, up from $795,000 a year earlier, while closed sales fell 3.4%. Town medians vary far more, from $475,000 in Monte Rio to $1,749,167 in Bodega Bay in their latest Redfin periods, so budget from the town figure and then from comparable sales.

Which Sonoma County towns have the lowest home prices?

Among towns with enough sales for a median, the low end is Monte Rio ($475,000), Guerneville’s ZIP code ($557,374) and Cloverdale ($589,219), then Forestville, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa. The river towns’ prices come with flood exposure and often septic, so budget for those inspections.

How do I know whether a property is in a city or under county rules?

The nine cities are Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Windsor. Look the parcel up on Permit Sonoma’s Parcel Search or ask the title company; the mailing address won’t tell you. Most of Sebastopol’s 95472 ZIP code is unincorporated, and ZIP 95403 spans parts of Santa Rosa, Windsor, Fulton and Larkfield-Wikiup. Jurisdiction decides who issues permits, which rental rules apply and whether a city transfer tax is due.

Can I buy a home in Sonoma County to rent to visitors?

Only where zoning and local rules allow. Outside the cities you need a county permit, a certified manager, a license and a tax number, and rentals are barred in R1–R3 zones, on Williamson Act land and in ADUs. Santa Rosa has frozen new non-hosted permits, Rohnert Park allows single rooms only, and the City of Sonoma allows no new vacation rentals.

Does Sonoma County require a septic inspection when a home is sold?

No. The county’s septic program sets no inspection at sale, so the buyer and lender decide. Order one on any septic property, and ask whether the system has treatment equipment that needs an annual county operating permit; those permits are renewed each year with fees due by June 30.

How do I check a home’s fire hazard zone?

Look up the address on CAL FIRE’s hazard-zone viewer or Permit Sonoma’s parcel map and compare it with the seller’s Natural Hazard Disclosure. Cities adopted new local maps after February 2025, so an older disclosure may be out of date. In High and Very High zones, AB 38 defensible-space paperwork is part of the sale.

Can I still get homeowners insurance here?

It depends on the parcel. In May 2026 the Department of Insurance reported that six of the 10 largest insurers had committed to stay and grow, and that new FAIR Plan policies had slowed sharply. Some insurers discount for ember-resistant vents, Class A roofs and defensible space, so ask for quotes during your inspection period.

Which parts of Sonoma County flood?

The Russian River towns are the best documented: the river reached 45.38 feet at Guerneville in February 2019, more than 13 feet over flood stage. Floodwater also filled blocks of Morris Street in Sebastopol that month. Check FEMA’s flood map for each address.

Can I commute to San Francisco from Sonoma County?

Yes, by bus or by train and ferry. Golden Gate Transit Routes 172 and 172X run between Santa Rosa and San Francisco, and SMART trains run from Windsor to Larkspur, where a shuttle connects to the ferry. Sonoma Valley and the river towns have no station, so plan to drive to one.

Where is new housing being built?

The largest plans are Rohnert Park’s SOMO Village and downtown, Cotati’s new rental buildings, the Springs Specific Plan north of Sonoma and the Sonoma Developmental Center site in Glen Ellen. The unincorporated county’s housing target for 2023–2031 is 3,824 units.

What about Sonoma Mountain and Diamond A?

Both are hillside areas of Sonoma Valley, covered in our guide to Sonoma Mountain and Diamond A. Jack London State Historic Park takes in about 1,570 acres on Sonoma Mountain above Glen Ellen, and the Sonoma Mountain appellation (1985) begins at the 400-foot contour. For any hillside parcel, confirm whether it’s inside the City of Sonoma, then check water, septic and fire zone.

How many wine appellations does Sonoma County have?

Nineteen, by Sonoma County Winegrowers’ count, many of them nested: Russian River Valley sits inside Northern Sonoma, and Sonoma Mountain inside Sonoma Valley. Since 2014, wine labeled with an AVA wholly inside the county must also say “Sonoma County.”

Property tax in Sonoma County

For an ownership budget, check the parcel’s assessed value, tax rate area and itemized charges. Annual and supplemental bills can have different deadlines; confirm the bill type before paying.

The Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector provides the county’s official payment instructions and tax search. A Sonoma mailing address does not establish whether a parcel is in the city or unincorporated county, and district boundaries affect the tax bill. Use the actual parcel’s tax rate area and line items rather than a townwide estimate.

Read our Sonoma County property tax guide for payment dates, official bill lookup, supplemental assessments, exemptions and assessment appeals. Confirm current fees and filing instructions with the responsible county office.

Official resources: tax bills and payment instructions; county assessment appeals; 2026 BOE appeal calendar.

Sources & notes

C.A.R.: September 2026 sales and price report (October 2026); Census QuickFacts: Sonoma County (2025 estimates; ACS 2020–2024)
Redfin housing-market pages for Sonoma County and each town or ZIP code as dated in the table, e.g. Santa Rosa and Monte Rio (October 2026); ATTOM: Kenwood
County Clerk-Recorder: transfer tax; county TOT; county tenant protections
Permit Sonoma: vacation rentals, septic, wells, ADUs and fire zones
City rental and tax pages: Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Windsor, Cloverdale, Cotati, Sonoma and Petaluma; Civil Code §1947.12
CAL FIRE: Tubbs and Glass fires; Department of Insurance (May 2026); NOAA: Russian River at Guerneville
KRCB: groundwater plans (2023); Forestville Water District; Golden Gate Transit
Sonoma County Winegrowers; 2025 Grape Crush Report; 2024 crop report

Figures carry their dates where they appear, and we refresh market numbers every quarter. This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice; confirm the rules for a specific property with the agency named. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

Explore Sonoma County and plan your next move

Share your preferred location, budget, property requirements and timing. We can help organize a focused search, arrange showings or discuss preparing a property for sale.

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Local resource: Permit Sonoma parcel and permit search. Check official information for the address you are considering; area descriptions do not establish a property’s permitted uses.

Sonoma County: match the home to the ownership routine

A Sonoma County comparison becomes more useful when the residence, surrounding land, and any operating asset are examined separately. A city home, a river-area residence, a coastal property, and a country holding can serve the same broad relocation goal while creating different duties after closing.

Buying: choose the responsibilities as well as the setting

Compare Santa Rosa, Windsor, and Rohnert Park through actual building and ownership choices. When the search moves to Guerneville, Bodega Bay, or Annapolis, identify the particular site's access, services, exterior upkeep, and insurance questions rather than assigning the whole place one condition.

The city-and-country comparison worksheet helps separate those responsibilities. It links the existing deep guides for rural utilities, land and ADU proposals, and vineyard due diligence.

Selling: make the property’s operating story clear

Explain the house, usable site, improvement evidence, and continuing obligations in a coherent file. Where land or equipment contributes value, distinguish those assets from the residence rather than expecting one general home comparison to explain everything included.

For county-jurisdiction research, Permit Sonoma's record search provides a starting point and explains that online history can be incomplete. Use the relevant city authority for an incorporated parcel. A missing online result is an inquiry to pursue, not proof that a feature was approved, exempt, or prohibited.

Continue with Sonoma County buyer representation or seller representation. For a property in the city, use selling a Sonoma home for the focused local process.

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Cities and communities in Sonoma County

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A vineyard search focuses on land, planted blocks and the farming arrangement. A winery acquisition also needs a clear view of the premises, operating assets and permissions. Use the focused guide that fits your intended purchase.

Private acquisition inquiries can begin with the location, intended use and broad timing. Discuss your plans with Diamond.

Compare September 2026 county figures and methodology for Sonoma, Napa, Marin and San Francisco.