San Francisco / San Rafael
San Rafael has 60,433 residents (give or take 83) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,643 people per square mile.
San Rafael is about 34 miles from the Census center point for San Francisco in a straight line and covers 16.587 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for San Rafael that is 94901, 94903 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in San Rafael is $119,435 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
3,643 people per square mile puts San Rafael in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
48% of San Rafael homes are single-family detached, 11% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 32% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19).
47% of San Rafael homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 48% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
San Rafael has 15 points fewer detached houses than Marin County overall (63%) and 13 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 19% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US06041, checked 2026-10-19).
47% of San Rafael homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
Of the 22,910 occupied homes in San Rafael, 61% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 34% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 61% of San Rafael against electricity at 34%, and a cold-climate heat pump sized for this market replaces the gas system outright, so the usual quote is a whole-home install.
San Rafael has about the Marin County oil share of 0% and 8 points more electric heat than the county's 26% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US06041, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for San Rafael on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
LADWP Consumer Rebate Program heat pump HVAC, run by LADWP, is a live program for California addresses and publishes its terms without one headline figure (registry row 24 verified 2026-10-14, https://www.ladwp.com/residential-services/assistance-programs/consumer-rebate-program, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the San Rafael address before counting it. With 34% of San Rafael homes already on electric heat and 63% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
San Rafael has 23,909 housing units, 10% built before 1940 and 71% before 1980, with 8% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19).
San Rafael has 3 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Marin County as a whole (13%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US06041, checked 2026-10-19).
The median San Rafael home was built in 1968 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.8 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19).
71% of San Rafael homes were built before 1980 and only 8% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0668364, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
Heating design temperature: 27F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Marin County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 11 to 13 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 27F figure is the Marin County cold-day number a San Rafael heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 27F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 61% of San Rafael on gas and 34% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median San Rafael home has 4.8 rooms and was built around 1968, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for San Rafael. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for San Rafael yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.