Census-designated place · Colusa County, California

Maxwell, California

Maxwell is a census-designated place in Colusa County, California. It has 1,245 residents. Maxwell, California has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,087 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #773 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), drought exposure (low) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), hospital quality rating (low) and natural hazard risk (high).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,087 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #773 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 1,245 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 579.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0646338

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.

Safety62#5,898/15,637
Economy29#11,065/15,631
Housing25#11,253/14,977
Health35#10,124/15,609
Healthcare19#12,606/15,650
Environment51#7,575/15,453
Education3#15,124/15,649
Infrastructure24#11,860/15,650
Community8#14,385/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,817/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Maxwell, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Colusa 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 · high5.8%
99/100California 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataColusa County value
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAColusa County value
Grocery stores · high3.7 /10k
97/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsColusa County value
Public libraries · high3.2 /10k
96/100California 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesColusa County value
Public EV charging ports · high18.8 /10k
94/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyColusa County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100California 3.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataColusa County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low6.5 /1k
1/100California 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauColusa County value
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100California 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesColusa County value
Natural hazard risk · high98.6
2/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyColusa County value
High school diploma or higher · low65.5%
4/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Traffic deaths · high34.6 /100k
5/100California 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataColusa County value
Poor or fair health · high30.8%
5/100California 21.5%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,076 (2015-2019) → 1,245 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Average commute timeWorsening
17.0 min (2015-2019) → 26.8 min (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Child poverty rateWorsening
14.0% (2015-2019) → 24.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
10.0% (2015-2019) → 20.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
8.0% (2015-2019) → 16.9% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
14.4% (2015-2019) → 6.2% (2020-2024)
−8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Maxwell, California improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Maxwell, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.0 min2015-2019	26.8 min2020-2024	+9.8 min	Within the margin of error	2%
Broadband subscriptions	76.4%2015-2019	77.2%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Effective property tax rate	0.81%2015-2019	0.45%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	81%
High school diploma or higher	68.6%2015-2019	65.5%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.4752020-2024	+0.057	Within the margin of error	14%
Median household income	$64,2392015-2019	$67,7682020-2024	+5.5%	Within the margin of error	12%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.4%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Rent-burdened households	32.6%2015-2019	32.8%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“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 Maxwell, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Maxwell, 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, Maxwell, California itself moved −12.7 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

1,245 residents (±393)

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: 40–49 men (−7.8 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

1,245 residents (±393)

Maxwell, California
California share

White20%†243
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino78%†970

Education

744 residents (±214)

Maxwell, California
California share

No high school diploma35%†257
High school or GED26%†194
Some college9.8%†

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

377 households (±130)

Maxwell, California
California share

Under $25k27%†100
$25k–50k20%†74
$50k–75k11%†41
$75k–100k14%†53
$100k–150k14%†54
$150k–200k5.0%†19
$200k or more9.5%†36

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−14.1 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

377 households (±130)

Maxwell, California
California share

Own64%†243
Rent36%†134

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

128 households (±69)

Maxwell, California
California share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0004.7%†6
$1,000–1,50062%†79

Home values

243 homes (±108)

Maxwell, California
California share

Under $150k15%†37
$150k–250k30%†73
$250k–400k17%†41

Age of homes

409 homes (±131)

Maxwell, California
California share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–20094.2%†17
1980–199931%†126

Size of homes

409 homes (±131)

Maxwell, California
California share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom4.4%†18
2 bedrooms32%†132

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

445 workers (±151)

Maxwell, California
California share

Drive alone74%†329
Carpool18%†80
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home8.1%†36
Other0.0%0

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

409 workers (±144)

Maxwell, California
California share

Under 15 min30%†122
15–29 min35%†145
30–44 min3.7%†15

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

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 Colusa County, the county holding most of Maxwell's residents.

Colusa County has 417 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.72× California's), with 4,552 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,281. The Census Bureau also counts 1,086 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 417; 1,086 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 4,552
Average annual pay: $58,281; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	41	18.6	3.68×More than typical	229	$88,838	98
Restaurants and other eating places	32	14.5	0.79×Fewer than typical	391	$27,808	6
Specialty trade contractors	22	10	0.64×Fewer than typical	80	$74,325	66
Lessors of real estate	19	8.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	56	$65,107	103
Ambulatory health care services	15	6.8	0.33×Fewer than typical	88	$61,580	15
Limited-service restaurants	15	6.8	0.85×About typical	129	$23,581	—
Full-service restaurants	14	6.3	0.83×About typical	219	$31,959	4
Construction of buildings	13	5.9	0.78×Fewer than typical	61	$67,541	31
Gasoline stations	13	5.9	1.82×More than typical	106	$31,217	—
Grocery and convenience stores	13	5.9	1.99×More than typical	151	$27,609	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	5	0.99×About typical	44	$52,659	31
Religious organizations	11	5	0.90×About typical	33	$18,879	—

Rank places for an industry Open Colusa County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 22,052 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 Maxwell, 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

97.4FY2017
1.6KFY2019
0FY2020
-97.4FY2021

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

Maxwell, California's figures are part of those of Colusa County, CA ($134K 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: Maxwell is mostly in Colusa County.

See federal money in Colusa 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.

Maxwell, 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.

Colusa County29100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Colusa 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/0646338