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%

Willows$1,860/mo

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

Taft$1,240/mo

Typical home $207K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.89% · or rent about $1,069/mo · Housing →

The difference: $620 a month, about $7,500 a year, between Willows and Taft.

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

Taft 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

–WillowsNot graded DTaftSafer than 12% of U.S. towns

Schools

CWillowsBetter than 31% of districts in the state C+TaftBetter than 36% of districts in the state

Health

CWillowsHealthier than 27% of U.S. towns CTaftHealthier than 32% of U.S. towns

9Willows

11Taft

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

Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #379#750 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #431#243 Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #540#785 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #553#738 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #233#60 Most educatedPeople · 844 towns #649#770 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #611#719 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #443#376

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

WillowsTaft

Snow a year0″0″

January low38°F 41°F

July high94°F 99°F

Growing season (days)279d 330d

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

Outdoors & history

WillowsTaft

Trails3 mi 18 mi

Conserved land2%0.3%

Settled1886 —

National Register places2 1

Community

WillowsTaft

Library hours a week28 hrs 20 hrs

Colleges in town—1

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

339 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WillowsCA TaftCA

Willows ↔ Taft339 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

WillowsTaft

People

Population 6,190Lowest 7,125Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +2.1%Highest CA: +6.1% -8.4%Lowest CA: +6.1%

Median age 38.6±5.3Highest about the CA average 37.1±5.2Lowest about the CA average

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

Kids under 18 23.4%±5.6Highest CA: 22% 19.1%±5.6Lowest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 16.3%±4.3Highest CA: 15.7% 14.4%±6.4Lowest CA: 15.7%

Willows and Taft 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% 9%Lowest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.2%±2.7Lowest CA: 7.6% 6.8%±2.6Highest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $64,068±$18kLowest 35% below CA $72,772±$22kHighest 27% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $281,700±$32kHighest 62% below CA $252,600±$22kLowest 66% below CA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,237±$173Highest 39% below CA $1,069±$189Lowest 47% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,904Lowest 63% below CA $2,244Highest 56% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 60%±18.8Highest CA: 55.3% 52.6%±17.6Lowest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 19.3%Highest CA: 12% 16.9%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 59.1%Highest CA: 55.9% 55%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1975Highest 1 yr older than CA 1971Lowest 5 yrs older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minHighest 15% below CA 19 minLowest 34% below CA

Work from home 7.4%±4.1Highest CA: 17.2% 4.4%±4.6Lowest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 23.4%Lowest 27.6%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 20.3 miLowest 27.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.00Lowest 1.15Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Chico (7%)Bakersfield (17%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in TaftFew work in Willows

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2%Highest 0.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 2.9 miLowest 18.3 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.0 miLowest 1.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3 3

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 77.6Highest 19.7Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #431 of 574 in CA #243 of 574 in CA

School district Glenn County ROP · Walden Academy DistrictTaft City · Taft Union High

High school in town Willows HighTaft Union High

Students per teacherat that high school 18.8Highest 18.3Lowest

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.

Willows neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Willows’s Town Square.

Taft neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Taft’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Willows and Taft

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

Towns like Willows

+ Compare

Colusa6,505 people · $375K homes

+ Compare

Yreka7,820 people · $263K homes

+ Compare

Dos Palos5,765 people · $300K homes

+ Compare

Anderson11,255 people · $283K 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.

Willows vs Taft

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $620 more a month in Willows

Taft places higher on 11 of 21 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

339 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Willows and Taft

Towns like Willows

Post to Willows

Check your email