Stinson Beach near top of list of priciest real estate in U.S.; Sonoma and Napa counties fail to rank

Stinson has great beaches and a charming small town.

Dreaming of relaxing in your own beachside bungalow in Stinson? Well, it’s going to set prospective property buyers back a few bucks—as the unincorporated coastal hamlet’s 94970 ZIP code finished No. 6 on a list of the 100 most expensive real-estate areas in the United States.

The annual ranking was conducted by real estate data company PropertyShark, which examined median home sales prices across the country. Stinson Beach is the North Bay’s highest ranking median home price at $4.5 million in 2022, according to PropertyShark. All told, Marin County boasts six ZIP codes on the top-100 list. In addition to Stinson are: 94957 in Ross at No. 21 ($3.4 million); 94920 in Belvedere/Tiburon at No. 22 ($3.2 million); 94939 in Larkspur at No. 55 ($2.29 million); 94941 in Mill Valley at No. 76 ($2.05 million); and 94904 in Greenbrae at No. 91 ($1.92 million).

Ross’s 21^st place finish, however, is nothing to write home about—and not merely because the secluded enclave doesn’t offer home postal delivery—as the town suffered the sharpest drop in the rankings, after finishing No. 3 in 2022. Ross’s median home price fell 39%, a result the analysis chalked up to a decrease in the average size of the properties sold. “In 2022, the homes that changed hands in Ross had an average square footage of 4,496, whereas this year, the average size of homes sold was only 3,147 square feet,” according to PropertyShark.

Neither Sonoma nor Napa counties placed a ZIP code on the list. San Francisco’s 94127 ZIP rounded out the top 100 list at a median price of $1.8 million.

Topping the list at No. 1 for the seventh years in a row is Atherton’s 94027 ZIP,  where the median sales price was $8.3 million—up 5% from last year.

Overall, the Bay Area provided 37 of the 100 ZIP codes on the list, with multiple entries coming from Santa Clara, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties. Los Angeles County remains the priciest county with 20 entries.

A total of 65 entries are from California.

Check out the full rankings at propertyshark.com.