Data: 2023 USDA zones (PRISM/OSU) · NOAA 1991–2020 normals · updated Oct 30, 2026

Planting zone for Fairfax, CA

Fairfax, CA is in USDA zones 9b to 10a across its 2 ZIP codes.

Fairfax on the zone map

Outlined: its 1 ZIP code areas · tap the map for the zone at any spot · scroll or pinch to zoom

Not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Zones come from the 2023 USDA hardiness-zone data by the PRISM Group, Oregon State University; we re-mapped and recolored them. The official map is at planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.

Zones9b–10a25 to 35 °F

ZIP codes2

Last frostrare

First frostrare

Growing seasonall year

9b 1 ZIP 10a 1 ZIP

Frost forecast — next 7 nights

live from the National Weather Service

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Forecast data: National Weather Service (api.weather.gov), public domain. This is not a warning service — for official frost and freeze warnings see weather.gov.

Frost dates

A 32 °F frost doesn't happen here in most winters. At the nearest station (NOAA station Kentfield, CA, elevation 144 ft) the median growing season is 334 days. When frost does come, it is a midwinter night or two; cover tender plants when a freeze is forecast.

Frost data: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

When spring arrived in 2026

In 2026, spring leaf-out near 94978 came on Jan 29 — about the same time as the 1991–2020 average (Jan 29).

average
Jan 292026
Jan 29

JanFebMarAprMayJun

The Spring Index marks the day when accumulated warmth is enough for lilac and honeysuckle to leaf out — a widely used signal that the growing season has started. Source: USA National Phenology Network, www.usanpn.org — Spring Indices, first leaf, 2026 (data as of 2026-09-08) and 30-year average 1991–2020 (CC BY 4.0).

Soil in Fairfax, CA

The center of ZIP 94978 is mapped as Xerorthents-Urban land complex, 0 to 9 percent slopes: built-over ground without natural soil data. Garden soil here is usually imported or disturbed — test before you plant.

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database, via Soil Data Access, accessed 2026-10-29. The soil at the center point of ZIP 94978; soils change within a few hundred feet, so a home soil test (pH, nutrients) is still the best guide.

Climate in Fairfax, CA

Summer high81 °Faverage high, July

Winter low42 °Faverage low, December

Hot days20days a year at 90 °F or more

Freezing nights3nights a year at 32 °F or less

Growing degree days3,652base 50 °F — the season’s usable heat

Longest day14 h 48 mindaylight on June 21

Shortest day9 h 31 mindaylight on December 21

Onions to growIntermediateday-neutral types bulb best; long-day varieties may not bulb fully

Precipitation36.3 inper year, rain and melted snow

Average high and low, by month

Precipitation by month inches

NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — temperature: San Rafael Civic Center, CA (3 mi away); precipitation: San Anselmo 2.0 Nnw, CA (2 mi away). Daylight is calculated from latitude.