El Dorado Hills, California: An Informational Guide
El Dorado Hills is among the Greater Sacramento Area's most desirable places to live and work.
While sometimes referred to as a city, El Dorado Hills (elevation 768′) is an unincorporated area of El Dorado County. The county's two cities are Placerville (elevation 1,867′) and South Lake Tahoe (elevation 6,237′).
El Dorado Hills is located east of Sacramento, right off Highway 50, and about a quarter of the way to South Lake Tahoe. Cameron Park is just east of El Dorado Hills, and there are beautiful, scenic views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east.
The literal translation of “el dorado” is “the golden” — a double entendre of sorts. The rolling hills take on a golden hue at sunset, and Coloma, where gold was discovered in 1848, lies less than 20 miles away.
For thousands of years before 1820, the Nisenan Maidu people inhabited the area.
At a glance
- Population (2020 census)
- 50,547
- Median age (2024 ACS)
- 45.7
- Per capita income (2024 ACS)
- $75,619
- Elevation
- 768 feet
- ZIP code
- 95762
- Closest major airport
- Sacramento International (SMF)
What You Can Reach From El Dorado Hills
Location is the part of El Dorado Hills that a table of statistics never quite conveys. The community sits on Highway 50 about a quarter of the way from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe, which puts a reservoir, a ski resort, an international airport, two Gold Rush main streets, and fifty-odd orchards inside a single afternoon. Move the dial to see what fits in the time you actually have.
Drive-time dial 23 places within 3½ hours, plotted by direction and drive time
10 places within 30 min of El Dorado Hills for your filter
No matches in range. Widen the drive time, or choose another type.
- 6 min2 mi El Dorado Hills Town Center The de facto downtown: restaurants, the post office, a movie theater, and the summer concert series.
- 8 min4 mi Empire Ranch Golf Course Public 18 holes without leaving the community.
- 12 min7 mi Folsom Lake — Brown's Ravine The closest marina and launch ramp, and the reason a paddleboard here gets used instead of stored.
- 12 min8 mi Cameron Park The next community east, with its own lake and an airpark where houses have hangars.
- 15 min12 mi Red Hawk Casino & The Apex Electric karting, 18 bowling lanes, a golf simulator, and a VR arcade — the standard rainy-day answer.
- 17 min10 mi Historic Folsom Sutter Street's brick storefronts, the light-rail terminus, and the 1895 Folsom Powerhouse.
- 21 min17 mi Placerville The county seat, with a Gold Rush Main Street, antique shops, and the county fairgrounds.
- 26 min24 mi Apple Hill — Camino Fifty-plus orchards, wineries, and bakeries. Cider-donut lines in October, Christmas trees in December.
- 26 min21 mi Roseville — Westfield Galleria The region's largest mall, plus most of the big-box shopping the foothills don't have.
- 28 min21 mi Coloma — Marshall Gold Discovery Where gold was found in 1848, and the put-in for South Fork rafting trips.
- 32 min29 mi Downtown Sacramento The Capitol, Golden 1 Center, Old Sacramento, and the farmers' market under the freeway.
- 35 min30 mi Auburn Old Town Auburn and the American River confluence trails, at the north end of the foothills.
- 42 min36 mi Sly Park — Jenkinson Lake Swimming, campgrounds, and an eight-mile shoreline loop trail in the pines above Pollock Pines.
- 42 min40 mi Sacramento International (SMF) The closest major airport, reached via Highway 50 and Interstate 5, serving over a dozen airlines.
- 50 min40 mi Amador wine country Shenandoah Valley zinfandel, with Sutter Creek's walkable main street on the way home.
- 1 hr 2 min52 mi Nevada City & Grass Valley Two intact Victorian downtowns, best on a rainy Saturday.
- 1 hr 18 min65 mi Sierra-at-Tahoe The closest ski resort — reachable before the lifts open, with no overnight required.
- 1 hr 35 min79 mi South Lake Tahoe Heavenly, Emerald Bay, and the Nevada state line. A genuine day trip in summer.
- 2 hr95 mi Napa Wine country the long way around — past Sacramento and across the Delta.
- 2 hr 10 min100 mi Tahoe City & the North Shore The quieter side of the lake, plus Truckee River float trips in July and August.
- 2 hr 15 min132 mi Reno–Tahoe International (RNO) A second airport option over Echo Summit, sometimes with better fares than SMF.
- 2 hr 25 min120 mi San Francisco The Bay Area, which is where most people moving to El Dorado Hills are moving from.
- 3 hr 30 min175 mi Yosemite Valley Long enough to argue about, short enough that people still do it in a day.
Drive times are typical estimates on clear roads, measured from the Highway 50 interchanges in El Dorado Hills; mileage is by road rather than straight line. Add time for westbound commute traffic toward Sacramento, and for summer weekend backups or winter chain controls on Highway 50 eastbound.
Population
El Dorado Hills has experienced rapid growth over the last two decades. The population was 18,016 at the 2000 census. By the 2020 census, it had swelled to 50,547 residents, and the latest American Community Survey estimate (2024 five-year data) puts it at 51,026. The median age in El Dorado Hills is 45.7, per capita income is $75,619, and the median household income is $165,349.
El Dorado Hills Weather
El Dorado Hills has a Mediterranean climate. Summers are warm, arid, and constantly sunny. Winters are cool, with varying amounts of rain year to year. The average high temperature in July and August is in the low 90s.
The coolest months are December and January, with average highs in the low 50s and average lows in the mid-'30s. Below-freezing temperatures are rare in El Dorado Hills because of its low elevation at latitude 38.6857° N.
Residential Real Estate in EDH
El Dorado Hills has almost 17,000 homes and apartments. About 90% of these are single-family homes, and the homeownership rate is over 85%.
The real estate market has been hot for more than two decades. The median home listing price surpassed $1,000,000 in 2022 but has since declined; as of May 2026, Redfin puts the median sale price at about $866,000.
According to RedFin, most people considering a move to El Dorado Hills are from the San Francisco Bay Area. Census Reporter says that owners occupy 87% of housing units.
If you're planning a move or remodel and need somewhere to store your things, there are a handful of local self-storage companies.
Commercial Real Estate
While most residential areas are north of Highway 50, most businesses are south of Highway 50. El Dorado Hills Business Park is 900 acres in size and home to over 200 companies.
The greatest concentration of El Dorado Hills retail businesses is in the nearby Town Center.
Town Center
El Dorado Hills Town Center is the de facto downtown of the community. The area is home to many restaurants and retail shops.
If you're into fitness, El Dorado Hills Sports Club and Orangetheory Fitness are features of the Town Center. There are many other sports and fitness clubs in the area.
El Dorado Hills Schools
There are three school districts in El Dorado Hills. They are:
- Buckeye Union Elementary School District
- Rescue Union Elementary School District
- El Dorado Union High School District
Among the highest-regarded public schools are Lakeview Elementary, near the Lakeridge Oaks neighborhood, and Marina Village Middle, next to the Marina Woods neighborhood.
Recreation
Many recreation options within a short drive of El Dorado Hills exist, especially for those who love outdoor fun. Options include:
- Boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, and swimming on Folsom Lake
- Hiking, running, and mountain biking on foothill trails
- Golfing at the public Empire Ranch Golf Course
- Golfing, swimming, playing tennis or pickleball at the exclusive Serrano Country Club
- Skiing at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort
- Rafting with friends on the South Fork of the American River
The El Dorado Hills Community Services District (CSD) provides over 450 acres of parks and open space for everyone to enjoy. Parks include the 40-acre EDH Community Park and the 18-acre Promontory Park.
The Apex at Red Hawk Casino + Resort in El Dorado County has an electric karting track, 18 bowling lanes, a golf simulator, and a VR arcade for rainy-day fun.
Farm & Winery Visiting
The Apple Hill Area, just east of El Dorado Hills, has a variety of fruit and vegetable farms worth visiting. The region also has dozens of wineries.
Events in EDH
Many events occur in El Dorado Hills, including the Art, Beer & Wine Festival, the EDH Chamber of Commerce events, and the El Dorado Hills Summer Concert Series.
US Post Office
The ZIP code for El Dorado Hills is 95762. The US Post Office is in the Town Center at 4641 Post St, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762. Its current hours are 10 AM–5 PM, Monday through Friday.
Dining
Both El Dorado Hills and next-door Folsom have some excellent dining choices.
Among several area burrito options, Taqueria El Dorado gets the best ratings. It also offers a wide selection of Mexican grilled food. The restaurant has a lovely outdoor patio with shade umbrellas at each table.
A popular restaurant in the La Borgata Shopping Mall is Sienna El Dorado Hills. For fast food, Cosmic Roosters is local to El Dorado Hills and Folsom. Its fresh chicken menu has heat levels up to S.O.S. (Save Our Souls).
For an extensive list of EDH restaurants, check out Julie Gallaher's Sacramento Top 10 page.
The Closest Major Airport
The closest international airport to El Dorado Hills is Sacramento International Airport (SMF), approximately 40 miles away.
The airport is accessible via Interstate 5 and serves over a dozen airlines, including Aeromexico, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines.
Whether you are planning to move to El Dorado Hills or just visit, plenty awaits you in this family-friendly Sacramento suburb.