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Towns / California

Denair, California

Denair is an unincorporated community of about 4,900 people in Stanislaus County, California, in the Turlock area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 4.4 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, San Jose, is about 58 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Turlock

Population
4,914
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$429,800
Stanislaus County prices up 6.3% since 2022
Household income
$98,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Modesto area
104.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Turlock, CA
To San Jose
58 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.1% above the U.S. average in the Modesto metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byEmanuel Medical Center in Turlock, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 58 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 Denair 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Denair runs into the built-up area around Turlock (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

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
$429,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 6.3%Stanislaus County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,382 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$98,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,842 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
104.1U.S. average = 100 (the Modesto 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 6.3% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Modesto metro area, not Denair 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
4,914The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
34.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
9%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (25%); manufacturing (14%); construction (14%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Emanuel Medical Center, Turlock, CA, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

7 public schools in Denair, run by Denair Unified and Gratton Elementary.

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
79%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
42°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
80 a year
Nights at or below freezing
7 a year
Rain and melted snow
12.4 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
122 feet

Weather station: Turlock #2 (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: Emanuel Medical Center, Turlock, San Jose.

Stanislaus County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Yosemite National Park54 miles

Read about Denair's history on Wikipedia.

Know Denair?

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

  • Hickman, CA (unincorporated)844 people, 7 miles
  • Ballico, CA (unincorporated)447 people, 7 miles
  • Cressey, CA (unincorporated)386 people, 11 miles
  • Cowan, CA (unincorporated)497 people, 11 miles
  • Parklawn, CA (unincorporated)1,478 people, 12 miles
  • Airport, CA (unincorporated)903 people, 12 miles
  • Rouse, CA (unincorporated)1,462 people, 13 miles
  • Stevinson, CA (unincorporated)144 people, 14 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.