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%

Ceres$2,600/mo

Typical home $451K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.63% · or rent about $1,639/mo · Housing →

Hanford$2,260/mo

Typical home $383K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.78% · or rent about $1,309/mo · Housing →

The difference: $340 a month, about $4,100 a year, between Ceres and Hanford.

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

Hanford places higher on 14 of 22 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

C−CeresSafer than 22% of U.S. towns CHanfordSafer than 33% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−CeresBetter than 47% of districts in the state C+HanfordBetter than 43% of districts in the state

Health

C−CeresHealthier than 20% of U.S. towns C+HanfordHealthier than 38% of U.S. towns

8Ceres

14Hanford

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most new homesHousing · 438 towns #414#41 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #697#151 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 422 towns #175#79 SafestSafety · 411 towns #271#184 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #488#613 Lowest obesityHealth · 844 towns #749#594 Cheapest rentCost of living · 830 towns #277#138 Most activeHealth · 844 towns #740#603

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

CeresHanford

Snow a year0″0″

January low42°F 37°F

July high93°F 98°F

Growing season (days)351d 296d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)62nd 60th

Outdoors & history

CeresHanford

Trails6 mi 5 mi

Conserved land2.8%2%

National Register places1 3

Archive photos—22

Famous people born here—65

Community

CeresHanford

Library hours a week30 hrs 44 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

114 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CeresCA HanfordCA

Ceres ↔ Hanford114 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

CeresHanford

People

Population 49,342Lowest 59,754Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.6%Highest CA: +6.1% +7.5%Lowest CA: +6.1%

Median age 32.8±1Highest 13% below CA 32.5±1Lowest 14% below CA

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

Kids under 18 27.9%±1.9Lowest CA: 22% 28.7%±1.5Highest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 11.9%±1.3Lowest CA: 15.7% 13.3%±1.1Highest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 12.7%Lowest CA: 37.1% 18.1%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.3%±0.8Lowest CA: 7.6% 6.8%±0.9Highest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $79,025±$5kHighest 20% below CA $76,461±$5kLowest 23% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $424,800±$10kHighest 42% below CA $349,400±$10kLowest 52% below CA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,639±$81Highest 19% below CA $1,309±$101Lowest 36% below CA

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,665Lowest 48% below CA $2,736Highest 47% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 54.4%±8.9Highest CA: 55.3% 49.6%±7Lowest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 15.9%Highest CA: 12% 14.5%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 64.4%Highest CA: 55.9% 62.1%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1986Lowest 10 yrs newer than CA 1987Highest 11 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 34 minHighest 18% above CA 23 minLowest 21% below CA

Work from home 5.7%±1.5Lowest CA: 17.2% 7.2%±1.4Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 12.2%Lowest 26.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.3 miLowest 16.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.85Highest 0.72Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Modesto (21%)Visalia (8%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in HanfordFew work in Ceres

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.8%Highest 2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 6.1 miHighest 5.4 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 16Highest 12Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 110Highest 94.7Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #407 of 574 in CA #344 of 574 in CA

School district Ceres Unified · Stanislaus County Office of EducationHanford Elementary · Hanford Joint Union High

High school in town Ceres HighHanford High

Students per teacherat that high school 22.6Lowest 23.4Highest

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.

Ceres neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ceres’s Town Square.

Hanford neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hanford’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Ceres and Hanford

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

Bordering Ceres

+ Compare

Bystrom4,143 people · $319K homes

Towns like Ceres

+ Compare

Coachella43,307 people · $368K homes

+ Compare

Los Banos47,593 people · $441K homes

+ Compare

Delano51,679 people · $302K homes

+ Compare

Perris80,511 people · $475K 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.

Ceres vs Hanford

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $340 more a month in Ceres

Hanford places higher on 14 of 22 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

114 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Ceres and Hanford

Bordering Ceres

Towns like Ceres

Post to Ceres

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