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Towns / California

Montague, California

Montague is a small town of about 1,200 people in Siskiyou County, California. It has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.1 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 225 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,157
down 5.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$183,700
Siskiyou County prices up 4.8% since 2022
Household income
$59,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural California
100
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Yreka, CA
To Sacramento
225 mi
straight line

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 moneyA typical home costs 3.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Yreka High, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byFairchild Medical Center in Yreka, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 225 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 Montague 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

Worth a closer look

Montague has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

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
$183,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 4.8%Siskiyou County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$59,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,293 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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: county prices have moved up 4.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of California outside metro areas, not Montague 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
1,1572020: 1,220
Median age
34.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

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
Manufacturing (25%); retail (22%); schools, health care and social services (21%)
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
27%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Fairchild Medical Center, Yreka, CA, about 6 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Asante Ashland Community Hospital, Ashland, OR, about 35 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

3 public schools in Montague, run by Montague Elementary and Delphic Elementary. The nearest public high school is Yreka High, about 6 miles away.

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
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
26°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
65 a year
Nights at or below freezing
137 a year
Rain and melted snow
18.9 inches a year
Snow
12 inches a year
Elevation
2,531 feet

Weather stations: Montague Siskiyou Co Ap (5 miles away) and Yreka (6 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Fairchild Medical Center, Medford, Sacramento.

Siskiyou County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, 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:

  • Lava Beds National Monument48 miles
  • Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve50 miles

Read about Montague's history on Wikipedia.

Know Montague?

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

  • Grenada, CA (unincorporated)254 people, 6 miles
  • Hornbrook, CA (unincorporated)268 people, 12 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.