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%

Dos Palos$2,070/mo

Typical home $363K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.56% · or rent about $1,125/mo · Housing →

Willows$1,860/mo

Typical home $321K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.68% · or rent about $1,237/mo · Housing →

The difference: $210 a month, about $2,500 a year, between Dos Palos and Willows.

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

Willows places higher on 11 of 20 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−Dos PalosSafer than 18% of U.S. towns –WillowsNot graded

Schools

CDos PalosBetter than 26% of districts in the state CWillowsBetter than 31% of districts in the state

Health

DDos PalosHealthier than 11% of U.S. towns CWillowsHealthier than 27% of U.S. towns

7Dos Palos

11Willows

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #81#540 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #93#379 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #426#233 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 844 towns #754#568 Most activeHealth · 844 towns #786#603 Lowest obesityHealth · 844 towns #749#594 Highest incomeIncome · 843 towns #829#709 Lowest depressionHealth · 844 towns #568#680

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

Dos PalosWillows

Snow a year0″0″

January low39°F 38°F

July high95°F 94°F

Growing season (days)322d 279d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)84th 72nd

Outdoors & history

Dos PalosWillows

Trails0 mi 3 mi

Conserved land3%2%

Settled—1886

National Register places—2

Archive photos3 —

Famous people born here4 —

Community

Dos PalosWillows

Library hours a week19 hrs 28 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

194 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Dos PalosCA WillowsCA

Dos Palos ↔ Willows194 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

Dos PalosWillows

People

Population 5,765Lowest 6,190Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +17.1%Highest CA: +6.1% +2.1%Lowest CA: +6.1%

Median age 37±3.8Lowest about the CA average 38.6±5.3Highest about the CA average

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

Kids under 18 24.1%±7Highest CA: 22% 23.4%±5.6Lowest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 21.8%±7.3Highest CA: 15.7% 16.3%±4.3Lowest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 11.3%Lowest CA: 37.1% 15.8%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.8%±2.9Highest CA: 7.6% 4.2%±2.7Lowest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $42,367±$17kLowest 57% below CA $64,068±$18kHighest 35% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $299,500±$37kHighest 59% below CA $281,700±$32kLowest 62% below CA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,125±$440Lowest 45% below CA $1,237±$173Highest 39% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,663Lowest 68% below CA $1,904Highest 63% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 31.1%±14.5Lowest CA: 55.3% 60%±18.8Highest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 17.6%Lowest CA: 12% 19.3%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 60.2%Highest CA: 55.9% 59.1%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1976Highest same as CA 1975Lowest 1 yr older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 28 minHighest about the CA average 24 minLowest 15% below CA

Work from home 7.3%±5.5Lowest CA: 17.2% 7.4%±4.1Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 19.8%Lowest 23.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 27.3 miHighest 20.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.59Lowest 1.00Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Los Banos (9%)Chico (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WillowsFew work in Dos Palos

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3%Highest 2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 2.9 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 1.0 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3 3

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 132Highest 77.6Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #395 of 574 in CA #431 of 574 in CA

School district Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint UnifiedGlenn County ROP · Walden Academy District

High school in town Dos Palos HighWillows High

Students per teacherat that high school 19.4Highest 18.8Lowest

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.

Dos Palos neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Dos Palos History

1 neighbor in Dos Palos can answer.

Willows neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Willows’s Town Square.

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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.

Dos Palos vs Willows

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $210 more a month in Dos Palos

Willows places higher on 11 of 20 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

194 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Dos Palos History

Set another town beside Dos Palos and Willows

Towns like Dos Palos

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