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%

Blythe$1,280/mo

Typical home $217K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.81% · or rent about $938/mo · Housing →

Coalinga$1,770/mo

Typical home $297K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.88% · or rent about $1,093/mo · Housing →

The difference: $490 a month, about $5,900 a year, between Coalinga and Blythe.

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

Coalinga places higher on 15 of 23 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

CBlytheSafer than 26% of U.S. towns C+CoalingaSafer than 35% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−BlytheBetter than 49% of districts in the state CCoalingaBetter than 31% of districts in the state

Health

D−BlytheHealthier than 5% of U.S. towns DCoalingaHealthier than 14% of U.S. towns

6Blythe

15Coalinga

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #796#31 Most new homesHousing · 438 towns #433#228 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #346#663 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 422 towns #173#9 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #778#485 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #551#363 Highest incomeIncome · 843 towns #755#613 SafestSafety · 411 towns #234#172

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Blythe’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

BlytheCoalinga

Snow a year0″0″

January low40°F 38°F

July high110°F 101°F

Growing season (days)325d 292d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)50th 91st

Outdoors & history

BlytheCoalinga

Trails10 mi 3 mi

Conserved land5.9%0.9%

Settled1916 —

National Register places—1

Archive photos30 20

Famous people born here—17

Community

BlytheCoalinga

Library hours a week36 hrs 33 hrs

Colleges in town1 1

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

366 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BlytheCA CoalingaCA

Blythe ↔ Coalinga366 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

BlytheCoalinga

People

Population 17,396Highest 17,203Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -12%Lowest CA: +6.1% +31.5%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 38.3±1.7Highest about the CA average 36.5±1.8Lowest 4% below CA

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

Kids under 18 20.3%±2.5Lowest CA: 22% 21.3%±3.1Highest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 10.2%±1.6Lowest CA: 15.7% 10.3%±2.2Highest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 8.5%Lowest CA: 37.1% 12.7%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 9%±1.3Highest CA: 7.6% 8.5%±1.9Lowest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $56,625±$12kLowest 43% below CA $75,451±$15kHighest 24% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $225,000±$18kLowest 69% below CA $262,400±$27kHighest 64% below CA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $938±$107Lowest 54% below CA $1,093±$110Highest 46% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,830Lowest 64% below CA $2,308Highest 55% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 54.3%±9.9Highest CA: 55.3% 37.4%±11.2Lowest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 18.9%Lowest CA: 12% 21.7%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 57.3%Highest CA: 55.9% 53.6%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1980Lowest 4 yrs newer than CA 1984Highest 8 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 34% below CA 21 minHighest 27% below CA

Work from home 3.3%±2Lowest CA: 17.2% 6.8%±3.2Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 35.7%Lowest 36.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 77.8 miHighest 19.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.80Lowest 1.03Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Ehrenberg (5%)Fresno (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in CoalingaFew work in Blythe

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.9%Highest 0.9%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 10.3 miHighest 2.9 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 mi 0.4 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 5Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 15.0Lowest 60.1Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #551 of 574 in CA #363 of 574 in CA

School district Palo Verde UnifiedCoalinga-Huron Unified

High school in town Palo Verde HighCoalinga High

Students per teacherat that high school 21.0Highest 20.1Lowest

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.

Blythe neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Blythe’s Town Square.

Coalinga neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Coalinga’s Town Square.

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Bordering Blythe

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Ehrenberg, AZ697 people

Towns like Blythe

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Oroville19,752 people · $312K homes

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Corcoran22,491 people · $236K homes

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.

Blythe vs Coalinga

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $490 more a month in Coalinga

Coalinga places higher on 15 of 23 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

366 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Blythe and Coalinga

Bordering Blythe

Towns like Blythe

Post to Blythe

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