City · Butte County, California

Chico, California

Chico is a city in Butte County, California, part of the Chico, CA metro area. It has 102,188 residents. Chico, California has a quality-of-life score of 21 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,347 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #708 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), drought exposure (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), rent-burdened households (high) and rent as share of income (high).

21Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,347 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #708 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 102,188 (2020-2024)
Land area: 35 mi²
Density: 2,956.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 0613014

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety6#14,632/15,637
Economy18#12,758/15,631
Housing5#14,205/14,977
Health31#10,725/15,609
Healthcare47#8,225/15,650
Environment43#8,787/15,453
Education22#12,144/15,649
Infrastructure85#2,386/15,650
Community17#12,948/15,651
Leisure & amenities62#5,976/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chico, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Butte County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Mental health providers · high911 /100k
99/100California 487 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteButte County value
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAButte County value
Average commute time · low17.8 min
93/100California 28.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Job growth · high1.8%
87/100California 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataButte County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyButte County value
Grocery stores · high2.2 /10k
79/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsButte County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high49.7 /100k
2/100California 20.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataButte County value
Rent-burdened households · high62.2%
2/100California 55.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · high38.3%
5/100California 32.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Home price to income ratio · high7.0×
6/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Violent crime rate · high566 /100k
6/100California 433 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationButte County value
Math scores · low2.56
7/100California 2.79United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteButte County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
94,529 (2015-2019) → 102,188 (2020-2024)
+8.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
7.4 /1k (2021) → 2.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−70%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
88.3% (2015-2019) → 93.6% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,324 (2015-2019) → $66,977 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
37.4% (2015-2019) → 42.2% (2020-2024)
+4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateWorsening
18.4% (2015-2019) → 22.2% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Chico, California improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Bachelor's++4.8 points37.4% → 42.2%
Household income+26%$53,324 → $66,977
Broadband+5.3 points88.3% → 93.6%

Declined2

Child poverty+3.9 points18.4% → 22.2%
Price / income+0.8×6.1× → 7.0×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Chico, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.9 min2015-2019	17.8 min2020-2024	+0.9 min	Within the margin of error	37%
Bachelor's degree or higher	37.4%2015-2019	42.2%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Improved	66%
Broadband subscriptions	88.3%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Improved	33%
Child poverty rate	18.4%2015-2019	22.2%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Declined	24%
Effective property tax rate	0.83%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	92.5%2015-2019	93.5%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Home price to income ratio	6.1×2015-2019	7.0×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	29%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5002015-2019	0.4832020-2024	−0.017	Within the margin of error	65%
Median household income	$53,3242015-2019	$66,9772020-2024	+26%	Improved	46%
Poverty rate	23.2%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Public transit commuters	1.1%2015-2019	0.9%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent as share of income	36.0%2015-2019	38.3%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Rent-burdened households	60.5%2015-2019	62.2%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Unemployment rate	8.0%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.7%2015-2019	8.3%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	38%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Chico, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chico, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Chico, California itself moved −1.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

102,188 residents (±69)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

42,943 households (±736)

Chico, California
California share

Under $25k21%8,937
$25k–50k19%8,205
$50k–75k15%6,321

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

42,943 households (±736)

Chico, California
California share

Own43%18,639
Rent57%24,304

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

51,372 workers (±1,131)

Chico, California
California share

Drive alone69%35,234
Carpool9.9%5,061
Public transit0.9%†460

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Chico, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Butte County, the county holding most of Chico's residents.

Butte County has 4,677 employer establishments, 226 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.86× California's), with 63,158 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,526. The Census Bureau also counts 13,330 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,677; 13,330 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 226; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 63,158
Average annual pay: $51,526; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Butte County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	397	19.2	0.92×About typical	3,877	$75,641	683
Restaurants and other eating places	368	17.8	0.97×About typical	6,710	$23,233	61
Specialty trade contractors	356	17.2	1.11×About typical	2,519	$72,894	730
Lessors of real estate	241	11.6	0.94×About typical	884	$40,628	1,241
Construction of buildings	195	9.4	1.24×About typical	1,306	$64,603	446
Services to buildings and dwellings	169	8.2	1.21×About typical	1,136	$43,632	868
Limited-service restaurants	162	7.8	0.97×About typical	2,995	$21,682	30
Offices of physicians	132	6.4	0.98×About typical	917	$139,012	157
Full-service restaurants	129	6.2	0.81×About typical	2,614	$25,473	18
Building equipment contractors	125	6	1.00×About typical	1,166	$69,671	149
Automotive repair and maintenance	116	5.6	1.11×About typical	759	$57,047	147
Offices of other health practitioners	107	5.2	0.85×About typical	623	$50,876	379

Rank places for an industry Open Butte County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 207,286 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chico, California: $29.80 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3M; +118% vs FY2025
Per resident: $29.80; US $1,994
Sole-source: 9.6%; US 30%
Single offer: 65%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services$1.7M57%
Defense Logistics Agency$689.6K23%
Forest Service$320.6K11%
Offices, Boards and Divisions$175.6K5.8%
Office of Procurement Operations$73.1K2.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs$29.8K1.0%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$27.4K0.9%
Federal Aviation Administration$27.3K0.9%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.3MFY2017
1.3MFY2018
4.9MFY2019
1.1MFY2020
981.6KFY2021
904.3KFY2022
-105.9KFY2023
1.4MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$1.9M63%
Special food services · 7223$283.2K9.3%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$208.5K6.8%
Hardware manufacturing · 3325$158K5.2%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$135.3K4.4%
Scientific research and development services · 5417

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Chico, California

JANITORIAL SERVICE AT CHICO ATCT AND REDDING ATCT IN NORTHERN CA.$410.3K
PROFESSIONAL TOUCH MAINTENANCE SERVICES, INC.· Butte County, CA· Facilities & utilities· Aug 24, 2023 – Aug 28, 2026· 697DCK23C00338
MEALS VENDOR (SUPPLY) FOR EMERGENCY INCIDENT/FIRE SUPPORT. TWAIN, CA-PNF-001305, RO#'S: S57, S80-85, 114-116, 137-139, 176-178, 180-182, 184, 192, 193. VENDOR: READY GO CHEF & UNWINED, CHICO, CA$283.2K
GPC CONSOLIDATED REPORTING· Butte County, CA· Facilities & utilities· Jul 14, 2026 – Jul 14, 2026· 1202RZ26K6211
FY26 ANNUAL RENEWAL OF MATRIX DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT (DM) AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT (RM) AND MAILROOM SUPPORT RENEWAL.$189.5K
MATRIX LOGIC CORPORATION· Butte County, CA· IT & telecom· Oct 1, 2025 – Aug 12, 2026· 15JENR26F00000001

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Chico, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Chico, California's figures are part of those of Butte County, CA ($117.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.6% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Chico is mostly in Butte County.

See federal money in Butte County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Chico, California is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

James GallagherR-CA-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 93%Missed 6.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Butte County40100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Chico, CA44

Other cities and towns in Butte County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0613014

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends