Census-designated place · Lassen County, California

Johnstonville, California

Johnstonville is a census-designated place in Lassen County, California, part of the Susanville, CA metro area. It has 1,039 residents. Johnstonville, California has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,219 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #785 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on dentists (high), primary care shortage (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), drug overdose deaths (high) and math scores (low).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,219 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #785 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 1,039 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 121.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0637484

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety18#12,763/15,637
Economy41#9,188/15,631
Housing13#13,074/14,977
Health36#9,992/15,609
Healthcare50#7,854/15,650
Environment56#6,858/15,453
Education1#15,486/15,649
Infrastructure52#7,526/15,650
Community1#15,495/15,651
Leisure & amenities21#12,352/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Dentists · high114 /100k
95/100California 95 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLassen County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100California 2.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLassen County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low116 min
89/100California 179 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLassen County value
Grocery stores · high2.5 /10k
88/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLassen County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.3 µg/m³
85/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLassen County value
Broadband subscriptions · high95.0%
82/100California 93.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Weaknesses

New business applications · low5.7 /1k
0/100California 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLassen County value
Drug overdose deaths · high62.4 /100k
1/100California 20.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLassen County value
Math scores · low2.31
1/100California 2.79United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLassen County value
Reading scores · low2.48
2/100California 2.91United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLassen County value
Natural hazard risk · high98.4
2/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLassen County value
Flu vaccinations · low23.0%
2/100California 41.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLassen County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,132 (2015-2019) → 1,039 (2020-2024)
−8.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
5.2% (2015-2019) → 27.8% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.3% (2015-2019) → 95.0% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
7.3% (2015-2019) → 15.9% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
85.2% (2015-2019) → 78.0% (2020-2024)
−7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$75,781 (2015-2019) → $100,132 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Johnstonville, California improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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

Household income+32%$75,781 → $100,132

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Johnstonville, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.6 min2015-2019	17.9 min2020-2024	+3.3 min	Within the margin of error	18%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.3%2015-2019	13.9%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Broadband subscriptions	85.3%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Effective property tax rate	0.84%2015-2019	0.84%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	15%
High school diploma or higher	96.7%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	53%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3662015-2019	0.3682020-2024	+0.002	Within the margin of error	49%
Median household income	$75,7812015-2019	$100,1322020-2024	+32%	Improved	60%
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 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 Johnstonville, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Johnstonville, 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, Johnstonville, California itself moved −7.6 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,039 residents (±314)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 60–69 women (+3.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,039 residents (±314)

Johnstonville, California
California share

White64%†663
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino27%†282

Education

720 residents (±209)

Johnstonville, California
California share

No high school diploma8.2%†59
High school or GED32%†228
Some college37%

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

320 households (±84)

Johnstonville, California
California share

Under $25k6.9%†22
$25k–50k9.1%†29
$50k–75k17%†55
$75k–100k17%†53
$100k–150k32%†102
$150k–200k9.1%†29
$200k or more9.4%†30

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+9.4 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

320 households (±84)

Johnstonville, California
California share

Own87%279
Rent13%†41

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

41 households (±36)

Johnstonville, California
California share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00073%†30
$1,000–1,50015%†6

Home values

279 homes (±71)

Johnstonville, California
California share

Under $150k10%†29
$150k–250k15%†42
$250k–400k53%†147

Age of homes

351 homes (±90)

Johnstonville, California
California share

2010 or later6.6%†23
2000–20099.4%†33
1980–199934%†118

Size of homes

351 homes (±90)

Johnstonville, California
California share

Studio3.7%†13
1 bedroom1.7%†6
2 bedrooms28%†98

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

371 workers (±133)

Johnstonville, California
California share

Drive alone75%†277
Carpool6.7%†25
Public transit0.0%0
Walk2.4%†9
Bike0.0%0
Work from home15%†57
Other0.8%†3

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

314 workers (±118)

Johnstonville, California
California share

Under 15 min66%†206
15–29 min17%†53
30–44 min6.1%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Susanville, 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 Lassen County, the county holding most of Johnstonville's residents.

Lassen County has 394 employer establishments, 137 for every 10,000 residents (0.55× the US rate of 248; 0.52× California's), with 3,483 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,129. The Census Bureau also counts 1,217 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 394; 1,217 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 137; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 3,483
Average annual pay: $49,129; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	29	10.1	0.55×Fewer than typical	389	$23,442	6
Specialty trade contractors	26	9.1	0.59×Fewer than typical	81	$60,593	92
Lessors of real estate	25	8.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	41	$36,098	81
Ambulatory health care services	22	7.7	0.37×Fewer than typical	295	$51,339	45
Building equipment contractors	15	5.2	0.87×About typical	64	$50,516	18
Gasoline stations	15	5.2	1.61×More than typical	48	$32,708	—
Limited-service restaurants	15	5.2	0.65×Fewer than typical	244	$21,570	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	13	4.5	0.90×About typical	50	$35,480	31
Construction of buildings	12	4.2	0.55×Fewer than typical	44	$65,364	67
Full-service restaurants	12	4.2	0.54×Fewer than typical	119	$25,765	—
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	12	4.2	1.27×More than typical	54	$51,426	7
Child day care services	10	3.5	1.43×More than typical	64	$30,156	56

Rank places for an industry Open Lassen County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 28,694 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 $73.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Johnstonville, California: $70.64 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $73.4K; −3.2% vs FY2025
Per resident: $70.64; US $1,994
Sole-source: 18%; US 30%
Single offer: 31%; 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

Forest Service$59.6K81%
Departmental Offices$5,3837.3%
Bureau of Land Management$4,6376.3%
Department of the Army$2,9284.0%
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$8521.2%

Top recipients

FIRESTORM WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION, INC.$16.2K22%
WHITE BEAR CONSTRUCTION, INC.$13.5K18%
SUSANVILLE AVIATION LLC$11.1K15%
FEDERAL CONTRACTS LLC$9,37813%
BRAVO, INC.$7,1759.8%

Spending by fiscal year

37.8KFY2017
92KFY2018
94.8KFY2019
119.7KFY2020
240KFY2021
324.4KFY2022
266.7KFY2023
158.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for forestry · 1153$16.6K23%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$13.5K18%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$11.7K16%
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$9,37813%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$7,1759.8%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$3,872

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

Johnstonville, California's figures are part of those of Lassen County, CA ($15.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lassen 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.

Johnstonville, 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.

Lassen County27100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Susanville, CA20

Other cities and towns in Lassen 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/0637484

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends