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 →

McSwain$3,980/mo

Typical home $690K (Census) · tax rate 0.63% · or rent about $1,516/mo · Housing →

The difference: $440 a month, about $5,200 a year, between McSwain 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.

Report cards

Winters places higher on 11 of 17 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

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

Schools

CWintersBetter than 26% of districts in the state –McSwainNot graded

Health

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

11Winters

6McSwain

Lists won, of 17 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #696#102 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #332#735 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #326#686 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 844 towns #448#759 Fewest smokersHealth · 844 towns #235#530 HealthiestHealth · 844 towns #314#498 Lowest depressionHealth · 844 towns #568#420 Most activeHealth · 844 towns #364#495

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

WintersMcSwain

Snow a year0″0″

January low38°F 37°F

July high95°F 95°F

Growing season (days)284d 263d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)84th 60th

Outdoors & history

WintersMcSwain

Trails1 mi —

Conserved land1.6%—

Settled1898 —

National Register places1 1

Archive photos7 —

Community

WintersMcSwain

Library hours a week50 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

113 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WintersCA McSwainCA

Winters ↔ McSwain113 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

WintersMcSwain

People

Population 7,583Highest 5,783Lowest

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

Median age 36.2±2.9Highest 4% below CA 33.8±5.4Lowest 11% below CA

Winters and McSwain 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% 30.8%±6.4Highest CA: 22%

McSwain 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% 9.8%±2.2Lowest CA: 15.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 31.7%Lowest CA: 37.1% 33.6%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.6%±1.6Lowest CA: 7.6% 7.8%±2.6Highest CA: 7.6%

McSwain 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±$35kLowest 24% above CA $139,131±$23kHighest 40% above CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $633,900±$33kLowest 14% below CA $690,100±$49kHighest 6% below CA

McSwain and Winters 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 $1,516±$695Lowest 26% below CA

Winters and McSwain 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 $4,377Highest 15% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 36%±11.3Highest CA: 55.3% 27.2%±9.3Lowest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 8.8%Lowest CA: 12% 17.1%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 70.3%Lowest CA: 55.9% 73.8%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1984Lowest 8 yrs newer than CA 1995Highest 19 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minLowest 20% below CA 23 minHighest 20% below CA

Work from home 15.6%±7.4Highest CA: 17.2% 5.5%±2.7Lowest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 16.6%Highest 1.7%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.3 miLowest 19.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.43Highest 0.34Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Vacaville (10%)Merced (20%)

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

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.6%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.7 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 84.4Highest 22.0Lowest

Schools

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

School district Winters Joint Unified—

High school in town Winters High—

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 →

1 neighbor in Winters can answer.

McSwain neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to McSwain’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Winters and McSwain

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

Towns like Winters

+ Compare

Grand Terrace13,078 people · $518K homes

+ Compare

Cotati7,489 people · $747K homes

+ Compare

Ripon16,201 people · $705K homes

+ Compare

Hughson7,648 people · $511K 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.

Winters vs McSwain

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $440 more a month in McSwain

Winters places higher on 11 of 17 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

113 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Winters and McSwain

Towns like Winters

Post to Winters

Check your email