City · Siskiyou County, California
Yreka, California
Yreka is a city in Siskiyou County, California. It has 7,820 residents. Yreka, California has a quality-of-life score of 13 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,659 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #829 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on public EV charging ports (high), grocery stores (high) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), flu vaccinations (low) and math scores (low).
- Quality-of-life score
- #13,659 of 15,651 cities and towns
- California
- #829 of 1,062 in CA
- Population
- 7,820 (2020-2024)
- Land area
- 10 mi²
- Density
- 783.3 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 0686944
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.
- Safety12#13,743/15,637
- Economy5#14,893/15,631
- Housing4#14,349/14,977
- Health7#14,503/15,609
- Healthcare65#5,431/15,650
- Environment53#7,194/15,453
- Education3#15,233/15,649
- Infrastructure38#9,675/15,650
- Community24#11,955/15,651
- Leisure & amenities66#5,270/15,651
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Yreka, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Siskiyou 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
- Public EV charging ports · high28.3 /10k99/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySiskiyou County value
- Grocery stores · high3.8 /10k98/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSiskiyou County value
- Preventable hospital stays · low1,536 /100k96/100California 2,428 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSiskiyou County value
- Mental health providers · high577 /100k92/100California 487 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSiskiyou County value
- Public libraries · high2.1 /10k92/100California 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSiskiyou County value
- Average commute time · low15.9 min
Weaknesses
- Natural hazard risk · high98.3
- Flu vaccinations · low23.0%2/100California 41.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSiskiyou County value
- Math scores · low2.442/100California 2.79United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSiskiyou County value
- Frequent mental distress · high22.5%4/100California 18.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
- Reading scores · low2.594/100California 2.91United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSiskiyou County value
- Injury deaths · high142 /100k5/100California 67 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSiskiyou County value
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- New homes permittedWorsening
6.8 /1k (2021) → 0.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−98%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
- Rent as share of incomeWorsening
30.4% (2015-2019) → 46.1% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
- Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.5% (2015-2019) → 65.7% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
- Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.7× (2015-2019) → 6.0× (2020-2024)
+61%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.1% (2015-2019) → 87.6% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Average commute timeWorsening
12.0 min (2015-2019) → 15.9 min (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
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.
Cities and towns like Yreka, California five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Yreka, 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
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.
Federal contracts performed here
Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Yreka is mostly in Siskiyou County.
See federal money in Siskiyou CountyRepresentation 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.
County
A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.
Other cities and towns in Siskiyou County
Largest first.
Similar cities and towns
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Anderson, CA11Alike on High school+, Mental distress, Price / income
- Oroville, CA7Alike on Mental distress, Price / income, High school+
- Weed, CA12Alike on High school+, Rent burden, Price / income
- Shasta Lake, CA18Alike on Mental distress, High school+, Unemployment
- Red Bluff, CA6Alike on Mental distress, High school+, Price / income
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
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- 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