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%

Gustine$2,390/mo

Typical home $422K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.52% · or rent about $1,395/mo · Housing →

Willows$1,860/mo

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

The difference: $530 a month, about $6,400 a year, between Gustine 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 19 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+GustineSafer than 43% of U.S. towns –WillowsNot graded

Schools

B+GustineBetter than 68% of districts in the state CWillowsBetter than 31% of districts in the state

Health

C−GustineHealthier than 19% of U.S. towns CWillowsHealthier than 27% of U.S. towns

8Gustine

11Willows

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #714#233 Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #171#540 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #211#443 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #783#611 Most affordableCost of living · 835 towns #238#77 Most educatedPeople · 844 towns #781#649 Most activeHealth · 844 towns #728#603 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 844 towns #692#568

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

GustineWillows

Snow a year0″0″

January low38°F 38°F

July high100°F 94°F

Growing season (days)273d 279d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)85th 72nd

Outdoors & history

GustineWillows

Trails0 mi 3 mi

Conserved land3.1%2%

Settled1915 1886

National Register places—2

Community

GustineWillows

Library hours a week19 hrs 28 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

169 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

GustineCA WillowsCA

Gustine ↔ Willows169 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

GustineWillows

People

Population 6,133Lowest 6,190Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +10.7%Highest CA: +6.1% +2.1%Lowest CA: +6.1%

Median age 44.1±6.6Highest 16% above CA 38.6±5.3Lowest about the CA average

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

Kids under 18 19.7%±7.6Lowest CA: 22% 23.4%±5.6Highest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 17.3%±4.4Highest CA: 15.7% 16.3%±4.3Lowest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 7.9%Lowest CA: 37.1% 15.8%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.4%±5.4Highest CA: 7.6% 4.2%±2.7Lowest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $59,532±$14kLowest 40% below CA $64,068±$18kHighest 35% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $441,700±$26kHighest 40% below CA $281,700±$32kLowest 62% below CA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,395±$190Highest 31% below CA $1,237±$173Lowest 39% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,275Highest 56% below CA $1,904Lowest 63% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 35.4%±21.7Lowest CA: 55.3% 60%±18.8Highest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 4%Lowest CA: 12% 19.3%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 56.6%Lowest CA: 55.9% 59.1%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1988Highest 12 yrs newer than CA 1975Lowest 1 yr older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 34 minHighest 20% above CA 24 minLowest 15% below CA

Work from home 1.9%±2.2Lowest CA: 17.2% 7.4%±4.1Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 13.6%Lowest 23.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 28.3 miHighest 20.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.55Lowest 1.00Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Newman (5%)Chico (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WillowsFew work in Gustine

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.1%Highest 2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.3 miLowest 2.9 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 1.0 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 3Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 92.8Highest 77.6Lowest

Schools

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

School district Gustine UnifiedGlenn County ROP · Walden Academy District

High school in town Gustine HighWillows High

Students per teacherat that high school 19.5Highest 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.

Gustine neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Gustine’s Town Square.

Willows neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Willows’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Gustine and Willows

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

Towns like Gustine

+ Compare

Colusa6,505 people · $375K homes

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Taft7,125 people · $253K homes

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Dos Palos5,765 people · $300K homes

+ Compare

Tehachapi11,946 people · $356K 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.

Gustine vs Willows

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $530 more a month in Gustine

Willows places higher on 11 of 19 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

169 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Gustine and Willows

Towns like Gustine

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