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%

Colusa$2,140/mo

Typical home $372K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.59% · or rent about $1,132/mo · Housing →

Tehachapi$2,530/mo

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

The difference: $390 a month, about $4,700 a year, between Tehachapi and Colusa.

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

Colusa places higher on 13 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+ColusaSafer than 35% of U.S. towns C−TehachapiSafer than 17% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−ColusaBetter than 45% of districts in the state B−TehachapiBetter than 48% of districts in the state

Health

CColusaHealthier than 28% of U.S. towns C+TehachapiHealthier than 37% of U.S. towns

13Colusa

9Tehachapi

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

Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #275#790 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #180#574 SafestSafety · 411 towns #173#316 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #77#362 Lowest depressionHealth · 844 towns #568#420 Lowest property taxCost of living · 835 towns #111#235 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #733#620 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #537#653

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

ColusaTehachapi

Snow a year0″—

January low38°F —

July high92°F —

Growing season (days)293d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)56th 90th

Outdoors & history

ColusaTehachapi

Trails7 mi 15 mi

Conserved land13.5%1.8%

Settled1850 1876

National Register places3 2

Archive photos6 18

Famous people born here8 4

Community

ColusaTehachapi

Library hours a week40 hrs 32 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

342 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

ColusaCA TehachapiCA

Colusa ↔ Tehachapi342 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

ColusaTehachapi

People

Population 6,505Lowest 11,946Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +7.4%Highest CA: +6.1% -10.2%Lowest CA: +6.1%

Median age 38.1±3.7Lowest about the CA average 39.1±2.7Highest 3% above CA

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

Kids under 18 30.2%±4.7Highest CA: 22% 19.8%±3.6Lowest CA: 22%

Age 65+ 17.4%±3.3Highest CA: 15.7% 13.4%±2.8Lowest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15.8%Highest CA: 37.1% 15.5%Lowest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.6%±1.6Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.2%±1.5Highest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $71,250±$11kLowest 28% below CA $72,957±$13kHighest 26% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $375,000±$29kHighest 49% below CA $355,500±$13kLowest 52% below CA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,132±$74Lowest 44% below CA $1,295±$129Highest 36% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,210Lowest 57% below CA $3,074Highest 40% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 68.4%±14.9Highest CA: 55.3% 46.8%±9.7Lowest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 18.1%Highest CA: 12% 13.9%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 59.9%Highest CA: 55.9% 58.5%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1972Lowest 4 yrs older than CA 1982Highest 6 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minLowest 31% below CA 27 minHighest 6% below CA

Work from home 4%±3Lowest CA: 17.2% 7.2%±3.5Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 25.2%Highest 21.8%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 13.3 miLowest 37.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.93Lowest 1.36Highest

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

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

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 13.5%Highest 1.8%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 7.1 miLowest 15.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.7 miHighest 1.5 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 9Highest 5Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 52.2Highest 35.2Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #248 of 574 in CA #252 of 574 in CA

School district Colusa UnifiedEPIC de Cesar Chavez District · Tehachapi Unified

High school in town Colusa HighTehachapi High

Students per teacherat that high school 20.0Lowest 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.

Colusa neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Colusa’s Town Square.

Tehachapi neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Tehachapi’s Town Square.

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Taft7,125 people · $253K 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.

Colusa vs Tehachapi

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $390 more a month in Tehachapi

Colusa places higher on 13 of 22 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

342 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Colusa and Tehachapi

Towns like Colusa

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