Census-designated place · Butte County, California

Forest Ranch, California

Forest Ranch is a census-designated place in Butte County, California, part of the Chico, CA metro area. It has 1,915 residents. Forest Ranch, California has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,892 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #607 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), drought exposure (low) and poverty rate (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), high school diploma or higher (low) and violent crime rate (high).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,892 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #607 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 1,915 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 137.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 0624918

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.

Safety6#14,632/15,637
Economy82#2,828/15,631
Housing—
Health41#9,216/15,609
Healthcare54#7,153/15,650
Environment43#8,787/15,453
Education6#14,768/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,259/15,650
Community16#13,182/15,651
Leisure & amenities62#5,976/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Forest Ranch, 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
Poverty rate · low1.5%
97/100California 11.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Adult obesity · low26.4%
90/100California 30.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.285
90/100California 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Job growth · high1.8%
87/100California 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataButte 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
High school diploma or higher · low86.2%
5/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
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
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100California 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesButte County value
Students per teacher · high19.4×
9/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsButte County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
772 (2015-2019) → 1,915 (2020-2024)
+148%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.2% (2015-2019) → 87.6% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.577 (2015-2019) → 0.285 (2020-2024)
−51%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Unemployment rateImproving
12.8% (2015-2019) → 4.2% (2020-2024)
−8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
8.8% (2015-2019) → 1.5% (2020-2024)
−7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
32.1% (2015-2019) → 24.8% (2020-2024)
−7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Forest Ranch, California improved on 1 of 6 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 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.

Improved1

Inequality−0.2910.577 → 0.285

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 6 measures

Change of every measure of Forest Ranch, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.1%2015-2019	24.8%2020-2024	−7.3 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Broadband subscriptions	76.2%2015-2019	87.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	85.1%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5772015-2019	0.2852020-2024	−0.291	Improved	100%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 6681 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 Forest Ranch, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Forest Ranch, 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.

No place that looked like Forest Ranch, California five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Forest Ranch, California itself moved +17.6 points in standing on average over the same 4 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

1,915 residents (±761)

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

687 households (±252)

Forest Ranch, California
California share

Under $25k0.1%†1
$25k–50k1.2%†8
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

687 households (±252)

Forest Ranch, California
California share

Own97%†666
Rent3.1%†21

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

982 workers (±431)

Forest Ranch, California
California share

Drive alone85%†836
Carpool9.9%†97
Public transit

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 Forest Ranch'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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Forest Ranch, 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

146.9KFY2018
5KFY2019
0FY2020
3.7KFY2021
-12.1KFY2023

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 Forest Ranch, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Forest Ranch, California's figures are part of those of Butte County, CA ($117.3M 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: Forest Ranch 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.

Forest Ranch, 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
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/0624918

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends