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%

Coalinga$1,770/mo

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

Tehachapi$2,530/mo

Typical home $424K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.86% · or rent about $1,295/mo · Housing →

The difference: $760 a month, about $9,100 a year, between Tehachapi and Coalinga.

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

Tehachapi places higher on 12 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

C+CoalingaSafer than 35% of U.S. towns C−TehachapiSafer than 17% of U.S. towns

Schools

CCoalingaBetter than 31% of districts in the state B−TehachapiBetter than 48% of districts in the state

Health

DCoalingaHealthier than 14% of U.S. towns C+TehachapiHealthier than 37% of U.S. towns

10Coalinga

12Tehachapi

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

Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #31#790 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #566#252 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #599#272 SafestSafety · 411 towns #172#316 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #101#362 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #485#653 Most activeHealth · 844 towns #697#531 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #363#252

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

CoalingaTehachapi

Snow a year0″—

January low38°F —

July high101°F —

Growing season (days)292d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)91st 90th

Outdoors & history

CoalingaTehachapi

Trails3 mi 15 mi

Conserved land0.9%1.8%

Settled—1876

National Register places1 2

Archive photos20 18

Famous people born here17 4

Community

CoalingaTehachapi

Library hours a week33 hrs 32 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

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

126 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CoalingaCA TehachapiCA

Coalinga ↔ Tehachapi126 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

CoalingaTehachapi

People

Population 17,203Highest 11,946Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +31.5%Highest CA: +6.1% -10.2%Lowest CA: +6.1%

Median age 36.5±1.8Lowest 4% below CA 39.1±2.7Highest 3% above CA

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

Kids under 18 21.3%±3.1Highest CA: 22% 19.8%±3.6Lowest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 10.3%±2.2Lowest CA: 15.7% 13.4%±2.8Highest CA: 15.7%

Tehachapi and Coalinga 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% 15.5%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 8.5%±1.9Highest CA: 7.6% 5.2%±1.5Lowest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $75,451±$15kHighest 24% below CA $72,957±$13kLowest 26% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $262,400±$27kLowest 64% below CA $355,500±$13kHighest 52% below CA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,093±$110Lowest 46% below CA $1,295±$129Highest 36% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,308Lowest 55% below CA $3,074Highest 40% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 37.4%±11.2Lowest CA: 55.3% 46.8%±9.7Highest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 21.7%Highest CA: 12% 13.9%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 53.6%Lowest CA: 55.9% 58.5%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1984Highest 8 yrs newer than CA 1982Lowest 6 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 21 minLowest 27% below CA 27 minHighest 6% below CA

Work from home 6.8%±3.2Lowest CA: 17.2% 7.2%±3.5Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 36.4%Highest 21.8%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.8 miLowest 37.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.03Lowest 1.36Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Fresno (7%)Bakersfield (9%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in TehachapiFew work in Coalinga

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.9%Lowest 1.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 2.9 miLowest 15.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 miLowest 1.5 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Lowest 5Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 60.1Highest 35.2Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #363 of 574 in CA #252 of 574 in CA

School district Coalinga-Huron UnifiedEPIC de Cesar Chavez District · Tehachapi Unified

High school in town Coalinga HighTehachapi High

Students per teacherat that high school 20.1Lowest 22.5Highest

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.

Coalinga neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Coalinga’s Town Square.

Tehachapi neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Tehachapi’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Coalinga

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Blythe17,396 people · $225K 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.

Coalinga vs Tehachapi

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $760 more a month in Tehachapi

Tehachapi places higher on 12 of 23 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

126 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Coalinga and Tehachapi

Towns like Coalinga

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