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%

Yreka$1,460/mo

Typical home $253K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.61% · or rent about $987/mo · Housing →

Willows$1,860/mo

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

The difference: $410 a month, about $4,900 a year, between Willows and Yreka.

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

Yreka 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.

Schools

C−YrekaBetter than 24% of districts in the state CWillowsBetter than 31% of districts in the state

Health

C−YrekaHealthier than 19% of U.S. towns CWillowsHealthier than 27% of U.S. towns

11Yreka

9Willows

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

Most new homesHousing · 438 towns #264#410 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #254#431 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #631#379 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #26#233 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #599#443 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 844 towns #397#568 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #257#377 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #439#553

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

YrekaWillows

Snow a year12″0″

January low27°F 38°F

July high93°F 94°F

Growing season (days)169d 279d

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

Outdoors & history

YrekaWillows

Trails14 mi 3 mi

Conserved land3.5%2%

Settled1857 1886

National Register places3 2

Archive photos6 —

Famous people born here10 —

Community

YrekaWillows

Library hours a week25 hrs 28 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

154 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

YrekaCA WillowsCA

Yreka ↔ Willows154 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

YrekaWillows

People

Population 7,820Highest 6,190Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.5%Lowest CA: +6.1% +2.1%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 39.6±3.4Highest 4% above CA 38.6±5.3Lowest about the CA average

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

Kids under 18 25.2%±4.4Highest CA: 22% 23.4%±5.6Lowest CA: 22%

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

Age 65+ 24.7%±3.8Highest CA: 15.7% 16.3%±4.3Lowest CA: 15.7%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 19%Highest CA: 37.1% 15.8%Lowest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.5%±1.8Highest CA: 7.6% 4.2%±2.7Lowest CA: 7.6%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $43,982±$11kLowest 56% below CA $64,068±$18kHighest 35% below CA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $263,200±$23kLowest 64% below CA $281,700±$32kHighest 62% below CA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $987±$79Lowest 52% below CA $1,237±$173Highest 39% below CA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,605Lowest 69% below CA $1,904Highest 63% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 65.7%±11.3Highest CA: 55.3% 60%±18.8Lowest CA: 55.3%

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

Below poverty line 17%Lowest CA: 12% 19.3%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 56.5%Lowest CA: 55.9% 59.1%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1976Highest same as CA 1975Lowest 1 yr older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 16 minLowest 45% below CA 24 minHighest 15% below CA

Work from home 5.2%±3.2Lowest CA: 17.2% 7.4%±4.1Highest CA: 17.2%

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

Work in townworking residents 52.8%Highest 23.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 2.3 miLowest 20.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.46Highest 1.00Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Redding (4%)Chico (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WillowsFew work in Yreka

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.5%Highest 2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 14.3 miHighest 2.9 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.4 miHighest 1.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 7Highest 3Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 37.8Lowest 77.6Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #254 of 574 in CA #431 of 574 in CA

School district Siskiyou ROP · Yreka Union ElementaryGlenn County ROP · Walden Academy District

High school in town Yreka HighWillows High

Students per teacherat that high school 17.4Lowest 18.8Highest

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.

Yreka neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Yreka’s Town Square.

Willows neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Willows’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.

Yreka vs Willows

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $410 more a month in Willows

Yreka places higher on 11 of 21 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

154 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Yreka and Willows

Towns like Yreka

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