Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Alturas grades D overall, 614th of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $60K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. Its police reported 20 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. 56% of working residents work locally in Alturas, where California’s towns sit at 6.6% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 44 of California’s 1,058 towns score higher on cost of living. Alturas has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Co. General Office Building and Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Where Alturas beats most towns.
Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Co. General Office BuildingEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Alturas is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 5%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 148 in 1880, 2,715 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 3 maps from 1961 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alturas, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Alturas.
Alturas has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
At 3 years of the county’s $59K median household income, the typical home (about $178K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,310, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 2.9% in the year to September 2026. In Alturas, 67% of households live in a home they own.
| Alturas | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $833 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Two of the 7 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by the Modoc Joint Unified school district. 5 public schools serve Alturas, with 766 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alturas ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 333 | C+ |
| Modoc HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 245 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Alturas’ rate of reported violence comes in at 7.6 per 1,000 residents. In Alturas, the level of property crime is 6.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Alturas | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Walkers can cover 2.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Alturas’ trail density stands at 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Alturas | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rotary Youth Park | — | 17 |
| 2. Warner Street Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Modoc National Wildlife Refuge | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 8,884 U.S. towns with household incomes like Alturas’s, it is less healthy than 56%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Alturas: 34% of adults sleep under 7 hours. 20% of adults in Alturas report frequent mental distress; 26% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Alturas | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 23% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Alturas | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 16.2% | 10.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8% | 5.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The natural-hazard score from FEMA in Alturas is 69 of 100. Expected losses in Alturas break down as 77% from inland flooding and 9% from earthquakes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Cedarville weather station, 19 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 137 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns.
In July, afternoons reach 89°; in January, nights fall to 20°, and about 22 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of residents in Alturas who are under 18: 19%. People 65 and older are 23% of residents (16% statewide). For Alturas, the age of the median resident is 45.3 years. Since 2020, Alturas has lost 2.8% of its people, to 2,634 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Alturas | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.3 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
57% women, 43% men
About 75 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.8 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Alturas | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.1% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.8% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.9% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.9% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.1% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.7% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.1% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,600, single groups can be off by several points
The average commute for its 1,132 working residents takes 18.5 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Alturas had 1,530 jobs in 2023, up 267 from 2013. The typical journey to work for Alturas comes to 19 minutes. Half commute less than 1 miles. The top destinations are Cedarville (3%), Redding (2%) and Susanville (2%).
| Alturas | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Alturas; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Alturas residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
3 places in Alturas on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in California, United States
Alturas (Spanish for "Heights"; Achumawi: Kasalektawi) is the only incorporated city in Modoc County, California, United States, of which it is also the county seat. Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, the city had a population of 2,715 at the 2020 census. Alturas is located at the confluence of the south and north forks of the Pit River, east of the center of Modoc County, at an elevation of 4,370 feet (1,330 m). Alturas is one of the largest cities in the region and a local economic hub.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Alturas.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alturas | #614 | D | B− | D | C+ | C |
| Daphnedale Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Daphnedale Park isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Alturas with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Alturas grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #614 of 841 in California. It grades C for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
2 notable people were born here, including Ernest S. Brown and Robert Laxalt.
