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Towns / California

Parksdale, California

Parksdale is an unincorporated community of about 2,900 people in Madera County, California, in the Madera 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 5.3 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, Fresno, is about 17 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Madera

Population
2,885
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$274,700
Madera County prices up 9.9% since 2022
Household income
$51,587
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Fresno area
102.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Madera Community Hospital
To Fresno
17 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.2% above the U.S. average in the Fresno metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.3 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 town4 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Madera High, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byMadera Community Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityFresno is about 17 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 Parksdale 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

Parksdale runs into the built-up area around Madera (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
$274,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.9%Madera County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,656 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$51,587U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$2,283 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
26%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
102.2U.S. average = 100 (the Fresno 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 9.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Fresno metro area, not Parksdale 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
2,885The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
26.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
34%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
6%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%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 (20%); retail (16%)
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Madera Community Hospital, Madera, CA, in town. It's a general hospital. 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

4 public schools in Parksdale, run by Madera Unified. The nearest public high school is Madera High, about 2 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Madera Community College (5,000 to 9,999 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 any internet subscription
93%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
96°F
Days 90°F or hotter
100 a year
Nights at or below freezing
26 a year
Rain and melted snow
11.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
277 feet

Weather station: Madera (1 mile 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: Madera, Fresno.

Madera 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Yosemite National Park43 miles
  • Kings Canyon National Park59 miles

Read about Parksdale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Parksdale?

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

  • Parkwood, CA (unincorporated)1,758 people, 2 miles
  • La Vina, CA (unincorporated)789 people, 7 miles
  • Biola, CA (unincorporated)1,070 people, 10 miles
  • Rolling Hills, CA (unincorporated)575 people, 13 miles
  • Fairmead, CA (unincorporated)1,229 people, 13 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.