Census-designated place · Sutter County, California

Sutter, California

Sutter is a census-designated place in Sutter County, California, part of the Yuba City, CA metro area. It has 2,532 residents. Sutter, California has a quality-of-life score of 28 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,337 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #633 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on drought exposure (low), job growth (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), high school diploma or higher (low) and drug overdose deaths (high).

28Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,337 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #633 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 2,532 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 837.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0677378

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.

Safety28#11,288/15,637
Economy62#5,905/15,631
Housing16#12,580/14,977
Health58#6,485/15,609
Healthcare70#4,733/15,650
Environment21#12,229/15,453
Education6#14,669/15,649
Infrastructure55#7,041/15,650
Community8#14,433/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,290/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drought exposure · low0%
98/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASutter County value
Job growth · high3.3%
95/100California 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSutter County value
Grocery stores · high3.0 /10k
94/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSutter County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySutter County value
Adult obesity · low28.4%
84/100California 30.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100California 1.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSutter County value

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high21.3×
5/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSutter County value
High school diploma or higher · low95.8%
7/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Drug overdose deaths · high31.6 /100k
7/100California 20.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSutter County value
Hot days · high110 days
7/100California 66 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSutter County value
Social associations · low5.3 /10k
7/100California 6.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSutter County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.1 µg/m³
9/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySutter County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,005 (2015-2019) → 2,532 (2020-2024)
−16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
24.6% (2015-2019) → 40.5% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
12.5% (2015-2019) → 22.3% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$69,034 (2015-2019) → $96,173 (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
90.3% (2015-2019) → 95.8% (2020-2024)
+5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
88.8% (2015-2019) → 93.9% (2020-2024)
+5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Sutter, California improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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+39%$69,034 → $96,173

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Sutter, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.5 min2015-2019	24.2 min2020-2024	−5.3 min	Within the margin of error	91%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.5%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Broadband subscriptions	88.8%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.57%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	77%
High school diploma or higher	90.3%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Home price to income ratio	3.6×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	39%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3452015-2019	0.3792020-2024	+0.034	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$69,0342015-2019	$96,1732020-2024	+39%	Improved	73%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.6%2015-2019	28.5%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	48%

“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 Sutter, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sutter, 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, Sutter, California itself moved +8.8 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

2,532 residents (±414)

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

994 households (±175)

Sutter, California
California share

Under $25k8.8%†87
$25k–50k11%†108
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

994 households (±175)

Sutter, California
California share

Own77%767
Rent23%†227

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

1,093 workers (±229)

Sutter, California
California share

Drive alone87%948
Carpool5.0%†55
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 Yuba City, 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 Sutter County, the county holding most of Sutter's residents.

Sutter County has 2,243 employer establishments, 227 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 0.86× California's), with 23,969 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,506. The Census Bureau also counts 6,840 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,243; 6,840 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 227; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 23,969
Average annual pay: $54,506; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	373	37.8	7.47×More than typical	1,479	$48,560	1,205
Ambulatory health care services	201	20.4	0.98×About typical	2,240	$85,264	195
Restaurants and other eating places	163	16.5	0.90×About typical	3,086	$23,542	26
Specialty trade contractors	148	15	0.97×About typical	867	$66,932	288
Lessors of real estate	81	8.2	0.67×Fewer than typical	271	$42,480	565
Limited-service restaurants	78	7.9	0.99×About typical	1,376	$21,147	5
Services to buildings and dwellings	72	7.3	1.08×About typical	360	$49,708	323
Automotive repair and maintenance	71	7.2	1.43×More than typical	365	$43,814	117
Offices of physicians	71	7.2	1.11×About typical	754	$127,658	30
Building equipment contractors	60	6.1	1.01×About typical	403	$69,186	73
Full-service restaurants	57	5.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,321	$25,548	13
Construction of buildings	49	5	0.66×Fewer than typical	273	$69,612	175

Rank places for an industry Open Sutter County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 98,693 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 Sutter, California: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

6.5KFY2017
2.6KFY2018
33.1KFY2019
6.5KFY2020
7.8KFY2021
0FY2022
863.5FY2025

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

Sutter, California's figures are part of those of Sutter County, CA ($38M 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: Sutter is mostly in Sutter County.

See federal money in Sutter 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.

Sutter, 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.

Sutter County35100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Yuba City, CA21

Other cities and towns in Sutter 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/0677378

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends