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Towns / California

Oroville, California

Oroville is a small town of about 20,000 people in Butte County, California. It's the county seat. It has grown about 2% since 2020. A typical home costs about 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 64 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
20,451
up 2.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$311,600
Butte County prices up 1.5% since 2022
Household income
$52,270
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Chico area
101.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Oroville Hospital
To Sacramento
64 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.2% above the U.S. average in the Chico metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood173 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 8.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 34.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town20 public schools: 11 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools and 3 other.
  • A hospital close byOroville Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 64 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 Oroville 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 home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$311,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 1.5%Butte County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,093 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$52,270U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
53%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,521 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
15%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
101.2U.S. average = 100 (the Chico 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 1.5% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chico metro area, not Oroville 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
20,4512020: 20,031
Median age
35.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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
Schools, health care and social services (23%); retail (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
21%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Oroville Hospital, Oroville, CA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

20 public schools in Oroville, run by Oroville City Elementary and Thermalito Union 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
67%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
40°F
July average high
97°F
Days 90°F or hotter
97 a year
Nights at or below freezing
16 a year
Rain and melted snow
40.9 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
181 feet

Weather stations: Oroville (2 miles away) and Colgate Powerhouse (23 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: Chico, Sacramento.

Butte County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lassen Volcanic National Park59 miles

Read about Oroville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Oroville?

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

  • Richvale, CA (unincorporated)145 people, 10 miles
  • Honcut, CA (unincorporated)271 people, 11 miles
  • Bangor, CA (unincorporated)597 people, 11 miles
  • Rackerby, CA (unincorporated)138 people, 12 miles
  • Berry Creek, CA (unincorporated)760 people, 13 miles
  • Robinson Mill, CA (unincorporated)100 people, 13 miles
  • Butte Valley, CA (unincorporated)1,087 people, 13 miles
  • Yankee Hill, CA (unincorporated)232 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.