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%

Mount Shasta$2,400/mo

Typical home $411K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.73% · or rent about $1,406/mo · Housing →

Bishop$3,470/mo

Typical home $595K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.70% · or rent about $1,580/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,070 a month, about $12,800 a year, between Bishop and Mount Shasta.

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

Bishop places higher on 11 of 21 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+Mount ShastaSafer than 39% of U.S. towns DBishopSafer than 7% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+Mount ShastaBetter than 66% of districts in the state C+BishopBetter than 41% of districts in the state

Health

B−Mount ShastaHealthier than 48% of U.S. towns A−BishopHealthier than 76% of U.S. towns

10Mount Shasta

11Bishop

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 844 towns #11#834 SafestSafety · 411 towns #143#383 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #338#21 Fewest smokersHealth · 844 towns #617#329 Highest incomeIncome · 843 towns #809#528 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #211#443 HealthiestHealth · 844 towns #548#300 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #102#260

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

Mount ShastaBishop

Snow a year89″—

January low27°F —

July high85°F —

Growing season (days)143d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)71st 87th

Outdoors & history

Mount ShastaBishop

Trails10 mi 3 mi

Conserved land6.3%46.8%

Settled—1861

Archive photos23 12

Community

Mount ShastaBishop

Library hours a week25 hrs 36 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

344 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Mount ShastaCA BishopCA

Mount Shasta ↔ Bishop344 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

Mount ShastaBishop

People

Population 3,182Lowest 3,778Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -5%Lowest CA: +6.1% -1.5%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 51.2±7.8 35% above CA 51.2±7.5 35% above CA

Kids under 18 18.1%±6.4Highest CA: 22% 10.3%±4.2Lowest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 33.9%±8.7Highest CA: 15.7% 28.1%±7.8Lowest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 33.6%Lowest CA: 37.1% 46.3%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.3%±1.7Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.6%±3.4Highest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $47,917±$20kLowest 52% below CA $83,686±$13kHighest 16% below CA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $330,200±$66kLowest 55% below CA $386,400±$191kHighest 47% below CA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,406±$231Lowest 31% below CA $1,580±$130Highest 22% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,396Lowest 53% below CA $2,709Highest 47% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 79.4%±45.7Highest CA: 55.3% 39.4%±18.3Lowest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 17.5%Highest CA: 12% 9.9%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 52.1%Lowest CA: 55.9% 58.3%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1972Highest 4 yrs older than CA 1967Lowest 9 yrs older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 21 minHighest 29% below CA 16 minLowest 44% below CA

Work from home 17.5%±10.2Highest CA: 17.2% 12.5%±7.2Lowest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 35.7%Lowest 43%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miHighest 1.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.64Lowest 1.94Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Weed (7%)Mammoth Lakes (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BishopFew work in Mount Shasta

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6.3%Lowest 46.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 10.3 miHighest 2.7 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.7 miHighest 1.4 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 48.2Lowest 72.6Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #195 of 574 in CA #268 of 574 in CA

School district Mt. Shasta Union Elementary · Siskiyou Union HighBishop Unified

High school in town Mount Shasta HighBishop Union High

Students per teacherat that high school 14.5Lowest 18.1Highest

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.

Mount Shasta neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mount Shasta’s Town Square.

Bishop neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bishop’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Mount Shasta

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Fort Bragg7,032 people · $535K 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.

Mount Shasta vs Bishop

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,070 more a month in Bishop

Bishop places higher on 11 of 21 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

344 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Mount Shasta and Bishop

Towns like Mount Shasta

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