138 years in pictures
6 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 4 places on the National Register.
- 1888Willits is settled
- 1915System Index Map
- 2026Southern Pacific 4304
A town of 4,920, settled in 1888. A typical home worth about $348K.
The 3 things Willits does most differently from other towns.
What neighbors are saying. Town Square →
Nothing on the calendar.
Ordered by what stands out in Willits. Another town gets a different order.
40% of Willits’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Ukiah (13%), Santa Rosa (2%) and Fort Bragg (2%). Half commute less than 16 miles.
The typical Willits home is worth about $348,000, down 6.1% in a year, 54% below the California typical home.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 98% of U.S. communities.
The public schools Willits’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 78% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
| School | Grades | Students | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside Elementary | K–2 | 350 | Not graded |
| Blosser Lane Elementary | 3–5 | 335 | C |
| Willits Elementary Charter | K–5 | 140 | Not graded |
| Baechtel Grove Middle | 6–8 | 331 | C− |
| Willits High | 9–12 | 397 | B |
| Willits Charter | 6–12 | 123 | Not graded |
Willits beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17.
| What stands out | Willits | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.2% | 5.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.9% | 10.6% |
| More smokers | 17% | 10.9% |
Willits has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 88°, a January night drops to 36°, and snow is almost unheard of.
Willits reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 62% report less. Within California, it does better than 63% of towns.
2.9 miles of trails across 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Recreation Grove Park | — | 6 |
| 2. Fairgrounds | — | 5 |
| 3. Willits City Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
6 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 4 places on the National Register.
4 places in Willits on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Willits.




City in California, United States
Willits (formerly Little Lake and Willitsville) is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located about 20 miles (32 km) north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1,391 feet (424 m). The population was 4,988 at the 2020 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and at the beginning of the county's extensive redwood forests as approached by Highway 101 from the south. An arch stands in the center of Willits featuring the slogans "Gateway to the Redwoods" and "Heart of Mendocino County". The arch is the repurposed second version of the Reno Arch. Reno donated the arch to Willits in 1995.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Willits.