Guest, Sign inJoin
Compare towns

Redding vs Happy Valley

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: size (15.7× in Redding) and trails (7.6× in Redding).

×
Redding, CAAn outdoors townCalifornia · 93,409 people
H ×
Happy Valley, CAAn outdoors townCalifornia · 5,944 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Report cards

Redding places higher on 10 of 18 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.

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $310 more a month in Redding

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.

Redding$2,260/mo
Typical home $387K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.70% · or rent about $1,379/mo · Housing →
Happy Valley$1,940/mo
Typical home $334K (Census) · tax rate 0.69% · or rent about $1,282/mo · Housing →

The difference: $310 a month, about $3,800 a year, between Redding and Happy Valley.

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.

Where they are

Redding and Happy Valley share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

ReddingHappy ValleyReddingHappy Valley
Redding ↔ Happy Valley7.7 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
751 Happy Valley residents work in Redding (47.9% of its workers)
Work & commute in Happy Valley →
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
ReddingHappy Valley
Snow a year1″1″
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)81st96th
Outdoors & history
ReddingHappy Valley
Conserved land6.4%0%
Settled1887—
National Register places5—
Archive photos—1
Famous people born here51—
Community
ReddingHappy Valley
Library hours a week60 hrs—
Colleges in town2—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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.

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.

ReddingHappy Valley
People
Population 93,409Highest 5,944Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +4.2% CA: +6.1% —
Median age 38.8±0.7Lowest about the CA average 42.5±2.5Highest 12% above CA
Kids under 18 22.2%±1Highest CA: 22% 22%±3.7Lowest CA: 22%
Redding and Happy Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 20.2%±1Lowest CA: 15.7% 24.1%±3.5Highest CA: 15.7%
Happy Valley and Redding are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 26.9%Highest CA: 37.1% 14%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.6%±0.7Highest CA: 7.6% 4.2%±2Lowest CA: 7.6%
Redding and Happy Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $70,466±$2kLowest 29% below CA $92,222±$21kHighest 7% below CA
Happy Valley and Redding are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $382,300±$7kHighest 48% below CA $334,100±$55kLowest 55% below CA
Redding and Happy Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,379±$44Highest 32% below CA $1,282±$812Lowest 37% below CA
Redding and Happy Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $2,673Highest 48% below CA $2,296Lowest 55% below CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 52.3%±4Lowest CA: 55.3% 80.3%±23Highest CA: 55.3%
Below poverty line 14.1%Highest CA: 12% 8.9%Lowest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 54.8%Lowest CA: 55.9% 87.3%Highest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1983Highest 7 yrs newer than CA 1979Lowest 3 yrs newer than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 17 minLowest 42% below CA 23 minHighest 20% below CA
Work from home 9.4%±1.2Highest CA: 17.2% 3.8%±4.6Lowest CA: 17.2%
Redding and Happy Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 61.5%Highest 6.4%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.8 miLowest 8.8 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.31Highest 0.18Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Anderson (3%)Redding (48%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Happy Valley48% work in Redding
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 6.4%Highest 0%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 155.5 miHighest 20.5 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.6 miHighest 1.2 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 36Highest 0Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 50.4Highest 13.3Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #162 of 574 in CA#339 of 574 in CA
School district Shasta-Trinity ROP · Redding STEM Academy DistrictHappy Valley Union Elementary
High school in town Shasta HighNone in town
Students per teacherat that high school 20.4 —
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.

Redding neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Redding’s Town Square.

Happy Valley neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Happy Valley’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Redding and Happy Valley

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

Bordering Redding

Towns like Redding

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.

Post to Redding

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in