Census-designated place · San Joaquin County, California

Dogtown, California

Dogtown is a census-designated place in San Joaquin County, California, part of the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area. It has 3,094 residents. Dogtown, California has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,815 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #746 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), drought exposure (low) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), social associations (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,815 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #746 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 3,094 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 238.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 0619440

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety14#13,379/15,637
Economy83#2,584/15,631
Housing10#13,528/14,977
Health61#6,142/15,609
Healthcare50#7,856/15,650
Environment14#13,349/15,453
Education4#15,008/15,649
Infrastructure41#9,241/15,650
Community13#13,637/15,651
Leisure & amenities17#12,991/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
99/100California 10 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSan Joaquin County value
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASan Joaquin County value
Comfortable days · high34.2%
93/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSan Joaquin County value
Median household income · high$127,750
88/100California $100,130United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Suicide rate · low9.4 /100k
86/100California 9.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSan Joaquin County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Joaquin County value

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high22.1×
3/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSan Joaquin County value
Social associations · low4.2 /10k
3/100California 6.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Joaquin County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.7 µg/m³
4/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Joaquin County value
Violent crime rate · high616 /100k
4/100California 433 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationSan Joaquin County value
Math scores · low2.57
7/100California 2.79United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Joaquin County value
Mammography screening · low35.0%
8/100California 38.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Joaquin County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,643 (2015-2019) → 3,094 (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
High school diploma or higherImproving
77.8% (2015-2019) → 89.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
56.3% (2015-2019) → 45.7% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
39.2% (2015-2019) → 28.7% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
14.0% (2015-2019) → 5.0% (2020-2024)
−9 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Child poverty rateImproving
9.8% (2015-2019) → 1.4% (2020-2024)
−8.3 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, Dogtown, California improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved2

High school++11 points77.8% → 89.2%
Uninsured−9 points14.0% → 5.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Dogtown, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.9 min2015-2019	38.0 min2020-2024	+7.1 min	Within the margin of error	5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.7%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Broadband subscriptions	86.9%2015-2019	88.7%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	0.75%2015-2019	0.62%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	77.8%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	97%
Home price to income ratio	6.1×2015-2019	5.2×2020-2024	−0.9×	Within the margin of error	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3962015-2019	0.4022020-2024	+0.006	Within the margin of error	46%
Median household income	$90,5002015-2019	$127,7502020-2024	+41%	Within the margin of error	75%
Poverty rate	9.4%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	56.3%2015-2019	45.7%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.0%2015-2019	5.0%2020-2024	−9 points	Improved	95%

“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 Dogtown, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dogtown, 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, Dogtown, California itself moved +3.3 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

3,094 residents (±581)

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

1,083 households (±226)

Dogtown, California
California share

Under $25k9.0%†98
$25k–50k12%†128
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,083 households (±226)

Dogtown, California
California share

Own79%855
Rent21%†228

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,530 workers (±321)

Dogtown, California
California share

Drive alone70%1,065
Carpool5.8%†88
Public transit0.0%0

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 Stockton-Lodi, 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 San Joaquin County, the county holding most of Dogtown's residents.

San Joaquin County has 13,638 employer establishments, 169 for every 10,000 residents (0.68× the US rate of 248; 0.64× California's), with 232,910 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,826. The Census Bureau also counts 55,593 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 13,638; 55,593 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 169; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 232,910
Average annual pay: $56,826; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	1,291	16	3.17×More than typical	8,947	$62,301	6,890
Restaurants and other eating places	1,159	14.4	0.78×Fewer than typical	20,554	$24,991	287
Ambulatory health care services	1,133	14.1	0.67×Fewer than typical	13,304	$74,481	1,656
Specialty trade contractors	946	11.7	0.76×Fewer than typical	9,572	$72,841	2,049
Lessors of real estate	584	7.2	0.59×Fewer than typical	2,366	$52,199	4,010
Limited-service restaurants	562	7	0.87×About typical	11,107	$23,692	99
Full-service restaurants	403	5	0.65×Fewer than typical	6,774	$27,831	114
Services to buildings and dwellings	399	5	0.73×Fewer than typical	3,525	$41,176	3,544
Automotive repair and maintenance	392	4.9	0.97×About typical	2,464	$51,590	1,118
Construction of buildings	381	4.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	2,687	$77,177	1,301
Building equipment contractors	360	4.5	0.74×Fewer than typical	3,235	$81,415	456
Offices of physicians	333	4.1	0.64×Fewer than typical	2,818	$93,717	222

Rank places for an industry Open San Joaquin County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 806,055 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dogtown, California: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

5.9KFY2017
41.4KFY2019
417.8KFY2022
51.6KFY2023
-15.2KFY2024

What was bought

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

Dogtown, California's figures are part of those of San Joaquin County, CA ($460.4M 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: Dogtown is mostly in San Joaquin County.

See federal money in San Joaquin 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.

Dogtown, 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.

San Joaquin County28100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Stockton-Lodi, CA28

Other cities and towns in San Joaquin 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
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/0619440

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends