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Tipton, California

Tipton is an unincorporated community of about 2,900 people in Tulare County, California. 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 5.4 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 57 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,851
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$243,900
Tulare County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$45,243
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Visalia area
99.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Tulare, CA
To Fresno
57 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.2% below the U.S. average in the Visalia metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.4 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Mission Oak High, about 10 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAdventist Health Tulare in Tulare, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityFresno is about 57 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 Tipton 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
$243,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Tulare County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,370 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,243U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
26%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,380 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
10%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
99.8U.S. average = 100 (the Visalia 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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Visalia metro area, not Tipton 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
2,851The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
30.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
5%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%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
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
Farming, forestry and mining (35%); retail (19%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Work from home
0%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Adventist Health Tulare, Tulare, CA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

1 public school in Tipton, run by Tipton Elementary. The nearest public high school is Mission Oak High, about 10 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 any internet subscription
75%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
98°F
Days 90°F or hotter
121 a year
Nights at or below freezing
21 a year
Rain and melted snow
10.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
256 feet

Weather stations: Corcoran Irrig Dist (15 miles away) and Visalia (19 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: Adventist Health Tulare, Tulare, Fresno.

Tulare County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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:

  • Sequoia National Park35 miles
  • Kings Canyon National Park45 miles

Read about Tipton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Tipton?

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

  • Woodville, CA (unincorporated)1,460 people, 7 miles
  • Matheny, CA (unincorporated)572 people, 8 miles
  • Teviston, CA (unincorporated)1,182 people, 9 miles
  • Poplar-Cotton Center, CA (unincorporated)2,171 people, 9 miles
  • Woodville Farm Labor Camp, CA (unincorporated)468 people, 9 miles
  • East Tulare Villa, CA (unincorporated)689 people, 10 miles
  • Plainview, CA (unincorporated)545 people, 12 miles
  • Hypericum, CA (unincorporated)179 people, 15 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.