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

AWintersSafer than 85% of U.S. towns –HighgroveNot graded

Schools

CWintersBetter than 26% of districts in the state C−HighgroveBetter than 18% of districts in the state

Health

B+WintersHealthier than 74% of U.S. towns B−HighgroveHealthier than 53% of U.S. towns

9Winters

9Highgrove

Lists won, of 18 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #696#102 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #600#171 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #167#599 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #326#636 Lowest obesityHealth · 844 towns #387#696 Lowest property taxCost of living · 835 towns #343#634 Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #274#8 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 844 towns #448#208

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Winters’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $300 more a month in Highgrove

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%

Winters$3,550/mo

Typical home $616K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.62% · or rent about $1,568/mo · Housing →

Highgrove$3,840/mo

Typical home $626K (Census) · tax rate 1.08% · or rent about $1,463/mo · Housing →

The difference: $300 a month, about $3,500 a year, between Highgrove and Winters.

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.

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

WintersHighgrove

Snow a year0″0″

January low38°F 43°F

July high95°F 95°F

Growing season (days)284d 353d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)84th 99th

Outdoors & history

WintersHighgrove

Trails1 mi 4 mi

Conserved land1.6%14.5%

Settled1898 1886

National Register places1 —

Archive photos7 —

Community

WintersHighgrove

Library hours a week50 hrs 34 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

406 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WintersCA HighgroveCA

Winters ↔ Highgrove406 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

WintersHighgrove

People

Population 7,583Lowest 8,366Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +7.4%Lowest CA: +6.1% +88.4%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 36.2±2.9Highest 4% below CA 30.9±3.4Lowest 18% below CA

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

Kids under 18 24.2%±4Lowest CA: 22% 30.6%±4Highest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 14.4%±2.6Highest CA: 15.7% 6.1%±1.8Lowest CA: 15.7%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 31.7%Lowest CA: 37.1% 37.7%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.6%±1.6Lowest CA: 7.6% 7.2%±2.9Highest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $122,951±$35kHighest 24% above CA $114,125±$36kLowest 15% above CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $633,900±$33kHighest 14% below CA $625,800±$48kLowest 15% below CA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,568±$274Highest 23% below CA $1,463±$283Lowest 28% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,920Lowest 23% below CA $6,748Highest 32% above CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 36%±11.3Lowest CA: 55.3% 58.9%±21.4Highest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 8.8%Highest CA: 12% 8.5%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 70.3%Lowest CA: 55.9% 73.9%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1984Lowest 8 yrs newer than CA 2008Highest 32 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minLowest 20% below CA 31 minHighest 8% above CA

Work from home 15.6%±7.4Highest CA: 17.2% 6.9%±3.7Lowest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 16.6%Highest 1.2%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.3 miHighest 14.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.43Highest 0.23Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Vacaville (10%)Riverside (16%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in HighgroveFew work in Winters

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.6%Lowest 14.5%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.7 miLowest 3.6 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 1.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4 4

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 84.4Lowest 91.8Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #377 of 574 in CA—

School district Winters Joint UnifiedRiverside Unified

High school in town Winters HighNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 17.2 —

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.

Winters neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Local School Memories

1 neighbor in Winters can answer.

Highgrove neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Highgrove’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Winters and Highgrove

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Towns like Winters

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Ripon16,201 people · $705K homes

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Hughson7,648 people · $511K 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.

Winters vs Highgrove

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Grades and rankings, side by side

A typical home costs $300 more a month in Highgrove

What daily life feels like in each

406 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Local School Memories

Set another town beside Winters and Highgrove

Towns like Winters

Post to Winters

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