A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bishop$3,470/mo

Typical home $595K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.70% · or rent about $1,580/mo · Housing →

Mount Shasta$2,400/mo

Typical home $411K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.73% · or rent about $1,406/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,070 a month, about $12,800 a year, between Bishop and Mount Shasta.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Bishop places higher on 11 of 21 CA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

DBishopSafer than 7% of U.S. towns C+Mount ShastaSafer than 39% of U.S. towns

Schools

C+BishopBetter than 41% of districts in the state B+Mount ShastaBetter than 66% of districts in the state

Health

A−BishopHealthier than 76% of U.S. towns B−Mount ShastaHealthier than 48% of U.S. towns

11Bishop

10Mount Shasta

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 844 towns #834#11 SafestSafety · 411 towns #383#143 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #21#338 Fewest smokersHealth · 844 towns #329#617 Highest incomeIncome · 843 towns #528#809 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #443#211 HealthiestHealth · 844 towns #300#548 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #260#102

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Bishop’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

BishopMount Shasta

Snow a year—89″

January low—27°F

July high—85°F

Growing season (days)—143d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)87th 71st

Outdoors & history

BishopMount Shasta

Trails3 mi 10 mi

Conserved land46.8%6.3%

Settled1861 —

Archive photos12 23

Community

BishopMount Shasta

Library hours a week36 hrs 25 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

344 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BishopCA Mount ShastaCA

Bishop ↔ Mount Shasta344 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs California average

BishopMount Shasta

People

Population 3,778Highest 3,182Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -1.5%Highest CA: +6.1% -5%Lowest CA: +6.1%

Median age 51.2±7.5 35% above CA 51.2±7.8 35% above CA

Kids under 18 10.3%±4.2Lowest CA: 22% 18.1%±6.4Highest CA: 22%

Mount Shasta and Bishop are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 28.1%±7.8Lowest CA: 15.7% 33.9%±8.7Highest CA: 15.7%

Mount Shasta and Bishop are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 46.3%Highest CA: 37.1% 33.6%Lowest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.6%±3.4Highest CA: 7.6% 2.3%±1.7Lowest CA: 7.6%

Bishop and Mount Shasta are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $83,686±$13kHighest 16% below CA $47,917±$20kLowest 52% below CA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $386,400±$191kHighest 47% below CA $330,200±$66kLowest 55% below CA

Bishop and Mount Shasta are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,580±$130Highest 22% below CA $1,406±$231Lowest 31% below CA

Bishop and Mount Shasta are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,709Highest 47% below CA $2,396Lowest 53% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 39.4%±18.3Lowest CA: 55.3% 79.4%±45.7Highest CA: 55.3%

Mount Shasta and Bishop are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 9.9%Lowest CA: 12% 17.5%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 58.3%Highest CA: 55.9% 52.1%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1967Lowest 9 yrs older than CA 1972Highest 4 yrs older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 16 minLowest 44% below CA 21 minHighest 29% below CA

Work from home 12.5%±7.2Lowest CA: 17.2% 17.5%±10.2Highest CA: 17.2%

Mount Shasta and Bishop are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 43%Highest 35.7%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 1.8 miLowest 8.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.94Highest 1.64Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Mammoth Lakes (7%)Weed (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Mount ShastaFew work in Bishop

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 46.8%Highest 6.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 2.7 miLowest 10.3 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.4 miLowest 2.7 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Lowest 3Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 72.6Highest 48.2Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #268 of 574 in CA #195 of 574 in CA

School district Bishop UnifiedMt. Shasta Union Elementary · Siskiyou Union High

High school in town Bishop Union HighMount Shasta High

Students per teacherat that high school 18.1Highest 14.5Lowest

California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bishop neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bishop’s Town Square.

Mount Shasta neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mount Shasta’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bishop and Mount Shasta

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Bishop

+ Compare

West Bishop2,551 people · $616K homes

Towns like Bishop

+ Compare

Nevada City3,172 people · $677K homes

+ Compare

Sebastopol7,445 people · $846K homes

+ Compare

Sutter Creek2,702 people · $544K homes

+ Compare

Big Bear Lake5,041 people · $577K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks California towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bishop vs Mount Shasta

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,070 more a month in Bishop

Bishop places higher on 11 of 21 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

344 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bishop and Mount Shasta

Bordering Bishop

Towns like Bishop

Post to Bishop

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