What it's like to live in Chowchilla
Chowchilla is a small city in California with rent below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Chowchilla deals with county unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and college degree attainment below the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- High poverty rate
How Chowchilla compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Chowchilla
Based on Chowchilla's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,356
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $47,120 a year
- 44% of Chowchilla renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$72,800
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $36,400
- Homes cost 5.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 17% below US
$1,178/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,178 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices run above average, with a median around $364,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $364,000 · 44% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
8.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Madera County is 8.0%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Madera County (county-wide)
Safety▲ 14% above US
374 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 691/100k · Chowchilla Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
26 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25.8 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers run seriously hot, with average highs pushing 96°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 39°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 57% below US
16% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
6 public schools inside the boundary
There are 6 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 23:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Yosemite National Park (63 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Chowchilla's strongest point is rent below the national average; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,178/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Chowchilla
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