Living in Hayfork, California: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices match the U.S. average in the parts of California outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Hayfork to say.
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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byTrinity Hospital in Weaverville, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 164 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 Hayfork 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical rent, with utilities: $840 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes built before 1940: 7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 7%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 100U.S. average = 100 (the parts of California outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of California outside metro areas, not Hayfork 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: 2,537The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 60.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 32%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 10%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 29%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 0%U.S.: 6%
College students: 8%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

Unemployment rate: 0%U.S.: 5%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Trinity Hospital, Weaverville, CA, about 15 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Mercy Medical Center Redding, Redding, CA, about 38 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Hayfork, run by Mountain Valley Unified.

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 any internet subscription: 84%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: 31°F
July average high: 95°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 85 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 106 a year
Rain and melted snow: 37.5 inches a year
Snow: 9 inches a year
Elevation: 2,916 feet

Weather station: Weaverville (15 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

Trinity HospitalEmergency room15

Redding, CACity of 94,00040

Sacramento, CAMetro of 2.5 million164

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: Trinity Hospital, Redding, Sacramento.

Trinity County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, 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:

Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area22 miles
Redwood National Park53 miles

Read about Hayfork's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hayfork?

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

Weaverville, CA4,000 people, 15 miles
Happy Valley, CA5,900 people, 38 miles
Shasta Lake, CA10,200 people, 40 miles
Cottonwood (Shasta County), CA7,400 people, 44 miles
Anderson, CA11,100 people, 44 miles
Bella Vista, CA4,500 people, 46 miles

Smaller places

Junction City, CA (unincorporated)1,190 people, 11 miles
Douglas City, CA (unincorporated)1,060 people, 11 miles
Post Mountain, CA (unincorporated)233 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.