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Davis, California

Davis is a college town of about 66,000 people in Yolo County, California. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 9.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Sacramento, is about 15 miles away as the crow flies.

College townSmall city

Population
66,110
down 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$866,100
Yolo County prices up 1% since 2022
Household income
$90,045
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Sacramento area
106.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Sutter Davis Hospital
To Sacramento
15 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.7% above the U.S. average in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 9.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood128 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 19.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town15 public schools: 9 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close bySutter Davis Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 15 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Davis meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

College town. About 1 in 3 residents is a college student, with University of California-Davis in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$866,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 1%Yolo County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,187 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$90,045U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
44%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,968 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
106.7U.S. average = 100 (the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 1% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area, not Davis alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
66,1102020: 66,902
Median age
26.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
77%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
17%U.S.: 6%
College students
34%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (41%); professional and business services (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
23%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
26%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sutter Davis Hospital, Davis, CA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

15 public schools in Davis, run by Davis Joint Unified.

Colleges in or next to town: University of California-Davis (20,000 or more students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
85%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
38°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
88 a year
Nights at or below freezing
18 a year
Rain and melted snow
19.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
40 feet

Weather station: Davis 2 WSW Exp Farm (3 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Woodland, Sacramento.

Yolo County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial38 miles
  • John Muir National Historic Site44 miles
  • Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site53 miles
  • Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park55 miles
  • Golden Gate National Recreation Area60 miles

Campus life. Check University of California-Davis's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Davis's history on Wikipedia.

Know Davis?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • El Macero, CA (unincorporated)796 people, 3 miles
  • Monument Hills, CA (unincorporated)1,551 people, 11 miles
  • Yolo, CA (unincorporated)800 people, 13 miles
  • Clarksburg, CA (unincorporated)288 people, 14 miles
  • Hartley, CA (unincorporated)2,431 people, 15 miles
  • Madison, CA (unincorporated)805 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.