City · Madera County, California

Chowchilla, California

Chowchilla is a city in Madera County, California, part of the Fresno, CA metro area. It has 19,020 residents. Chowchilla, California has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,194 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #987 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), drought exposure (low) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on high school diploma or higher (low), math scores (low) and natural hazard risk (high).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,194 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #987 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 19,020 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 1,647.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0613294

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety46#8,466/15,637
Economy18#12,814/15,631
Housing16#12,525/14,977
Health33#10,491/15,609
Healthcare14#13,432/15,650
Environment5#14,714/15,453
Education1#15,508/15,649
Infrastructure17#13,029/15,650
Community4#15,089/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,388/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chowchilla, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Madera 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

Job growth · high6.0%
99/100California 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMadera County value
Drought exposure · low1%
93/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMadera County value
Comfortable days · high31.2%
84/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMadera County value
Firearm deaths · low6.8 /100k
82/100California 6.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataMadera County value
Public EV charging ports · high10.0 /10k
81/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyMadera County value
Suicide rate · low10.4 /100k
81/100California 9.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMadera County value

Weaknesses

High school diploma or higher · low73.6%
2/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Math scores · low2.44
2/100California 2.79United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMadera County value
Natural hazard risk · high96.7
3/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMadera County value
Reading scores · low2.57
3/100California 2.91United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMadera County value
Poor or fair health · high32.6%
4/100California 21.5%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Restaurants and bars · low3.7 /10k
4/100California 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMadera County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
41.9% (2015-2019) → 51.1% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.0× (2015-2019) → 5.5× (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
8.5% (2015-2019) → 15.6% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.1% (2015-2019) → 88.1% (2020-2024)
+7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,563 (2015-2019) → $66,514 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateWorsening
6.8% (2015-2019) → 10.6% (2020-2024)
+3.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Chowchilla, California improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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++7.1 points8.5% → 15.6%
Broadband+7 points81.1% → 88.1%
Household income+24%$53,563 → $66,514

Declined1

Price / income+1.4×4.0× → 5.5×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Chowchilla, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.1 min2015-2019	25.8 min2020-2024	−2.3 min	Within the margin of error	74%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.5%2015-2019	15.6%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Improved	80%
Broadband subscriptions	81.1%2015-2019	88.1%2020-2024	+7 points	Improved	43%
Child poverty rate	26.3%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
High school diploma or higher	74.7%2015-2019	73.6%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Home price to income ratio	4.0×2015-2019	5.5×2020-2024	+1.4×	Declined	10%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4542015-2019	0.4392020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$53,5632015-2019	$66,5142020-2024	+24%	Improved	42%
Poverty rate	20.2%2015-2019	19.6%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	30.6%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	41.9%2015-2019	51.1%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Unemployment rate	6.8%2015-2019	10.6%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.2%2015-2019	8.4%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	57%

“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 Chowchilla, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chowchilla, 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, Chowchilla, California itself moved −4 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

19,020 residents (±25)

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

4,161 households (±382)

Chowchilla, California
California share

Under $25k24%998
$25k–50k14%†593
$50k–75k16%†673

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,161 households (±382)

Chowchilla, California
California share

Own57%2,383
Rent43%1,778

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

5,262 workers (±417)

Chowchilla, California
California share

Drive alone75%3,954
Carpool15%†791
Public transit0.4%†

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 Fresno, 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 Madera County, the county holding most of Chowchilla's residents.

Madera County has 2,366 employer establishments, 145 for every 10,000 residents (0.58× the US rate of 248; 0.55× California's), with 30,472 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,130. The Census Bureau also counts 9,094 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,366; 9,094 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 145; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 30,472
Average annual pay: $55,130; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	208	12.7	0.82×About typical	1,204	$62,641	498
Restaurants and other eating places	201	12.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	2,726	$24,831	55
Ambulatory health care services	173	10.6	0.51×Fewer than typical	1,925	$98,994	289
Truck transportation	135	8.3	1.63×More than typical	556	$58,304	775
Lessors of real estate	117	7.2	0.58×Fewer than typical	351	$40,960	720
Building equipment contractors	97	5.9	0.99×About typical	502	$60,958	117
Limited-service restaurants	97	5.9	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,515	$22,686	17
Construction of buildings	83	5.1	0.67×Fewer than typical	608	$66,321	293
Services to buildings and dwellings	77	4.7	0.70×Fewer than typical	1,088	$65,076	678
Automotive repair and maintenance	66	4	0.80×About typical	317	$47,527	158
Full-service restaurants	66	4	0.53×Fewer than typical	799	$28,186	22
Gasoline stations	50	3.1	0.94×About typical	393	$35,122	4

Rank places for an industry Open Madera County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 163,632 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 $10.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chowchilla, California: $0.53 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $10.1K; +57% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.53; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

U.S. Coast Guard$10.1K100%

Top recipients

EDJJ SOLUTIONS LLC$10.1K100%

Spending by fiscal year

440.5FY2017
489.4FY2018
1.3KFY2023
6.3KFY2024
6.5KFY2025
10.1KFY2026

What was bought

Construction & real property$10.1K100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Lessors of real estate · 5311$10.1K100%

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 Chowchilla, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Chowchilla, California's figures are part of those of Madera County, CA ($22M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Madera 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.

Chowchilla, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Madera County15100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fresno, CA17

Other cities and towns in Madera 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/0613294

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends