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 →

Wheatland$2,680/mo

Typical home $456K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.78% · or rent about $1,264/mo · Housing →

The difference: $820 a month, about $9,900 a year, between Wheatland 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

Wheatland places higher on 13 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

–WillowsNot graded A−WheatlandSafer than 84% of U.S. towns

Schools

CWillowsBetter than 31% of districts in the state BWheatlandBetter than 61% of districts in the state

Health

CWillowsHealthier than 27% of U.S. towns B−WheatlandHealthier than 51% of U.S. towns

7Willows

13Wheatland

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

Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #443#12 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #379#791 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #233#642 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #431#208 Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #540#277 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #377#173 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 844 towns #568#328 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #553#741

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

WillowsWheatland

Snow a year0″0″

January low38°F —

July high94°F —

Growing season (days)279d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)72nd 64th

Outdoors & history

WillowsWheatland

Trails3 mi 16 mi

Conserved land2%0.3%

Settled1886 —

National Register places2 1

Archive photos—3

Community

WillowsWheatland

Library hours a week28 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

55 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WillowsCA WheatlandCA

Willows ↔ Wheatland55 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

WillowsWheatland

People

Population 6,190Highest 3,876Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +2.1%Lowest CA: +6.1% +7.4%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 38.6±5.3Highest about the CA average 38.3±7.7Lowest about the CA average

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

Kids under 18 23.4%±5.6Lowest CA: 22% 28.6%±7Highest CA: 22%

Wheatland and Willows 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% 15.8%±4.8Lowest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15.8%Lowest CA: 37.1% 21.6%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.2%±2.7Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.1%±3.3Highest CA: 7.6%

Wheatland 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 $83,452±$21kHighest 16% below CA

Wheatland 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±$32kLowest 62% below CA $429,200±$25kHighest 42% below CA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,237±$173Lowest 39% below CA $1,264±$439Highest 38% below CA

Wheatland and Willows 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 $3,346Highest 35% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 60%±18.8Highest CA: 55.3% 37.2%±13.9Lowest CA: 55.3%

Willows and Wheatland 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% 11.2%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 59.1%Lowest CA: 55.9% 63.5%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1975Lowest 1 yr older than CA 1996Highest 20 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minLowest 15% below CA 32 minHighest 12% above CA

Work from home 7.4%±4.1Lowest CA: 17.2% 12.3%±9.3Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 23.4%Highest 6.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 20.3 miLowest 21.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.00Highest 0.45Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Chico (7%)Sacramento (9%)

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

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2%Highest 0.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 2.9 miLowest 15.6 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.0 miLowest 1.9 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 77.6Highest 13.8Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #431 of 574 in CA #208 of 574 in CA

School district Glenn County ROP · Walden Academy DistrictWheatland · Wheatland Union High

High school in town Willows HighWheatland Union High

Students per teacherat that high school 18.8Lowest 20.4Highest

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.

Wheatland neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wheatland’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.

Willows vs Wheatland

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $820 more a month in Wheatland

Wheatland places higher on 13 of 20 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

55 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Willows and Wheatland

Towns like Willows

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