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Tarpey Village, California

Tarpey Village is an unincorporated community of about 3,100 people in Fresno County, California, in the Fresno 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 3.8 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 5 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Fresno

Population
3,106
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$345,900
Fresno County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$90,313
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Fresno area
102.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Clovis, CA
To Fresno
5 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 3.8 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 town3 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Clovis High, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byClovis Community Medical Center in Clovis, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityFresno is about 5 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 Tarpey Village 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

Tarpey Village runs into the built-up area around Fresno (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
$345,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Fresno County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,163 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$90,313U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
92%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,171 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Fresno metro area, not Tarpey Village 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
3,106The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
39.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%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
0%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%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 (32%); professional and business services (11%)
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Clovis Community Medical Center, Clovis, 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

3 public schools in Tarpey Village, run by Clovis Unified and Clovis Global Academy District. The nearest public high school is Clovis High, about 2 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.

Weather

January average low
41°F
July average high
98°F
Days 90°F or hotter
113 a year
Nights at or below freezing
11 a year
Rain and melted snow
11 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
351 feet

Weather station: Fresno Yosemite Intl Ap (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: Clovis Community Medical Center, Clovis, Fresno.

Fresno 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:

  • Kings Canyon National Park40 miles
  • Sequoia National Park45 miles
  • Yosemite National Park49 miles

Read about Tarpey Village's history on Wikipedia.

Know Tarpey Village?

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

  • Calwa, CA (unincorporated)1,862 people, 6 miles
  • Fort Washington, CA (unincorporated)290 people, 7 miles
  • Malaga, CA (unincorporated)780 people, 8 miles
  • Rolling Hills, CA (unincorporated)575 people, 9 miles
  • West Park, CA (unincorporated)1,136 people, 10 miles
  • Del Rey, CA (unincorporated)1,654 people, 11 miles
  • Centerville, CA (unincorporated)248 people, 12 miles
  • Millerton, CA (unincorporated)1,159 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.