Bear CreekCA
A town of 346, settled in 1871.
Is Bear Creek a good place to live?
Bear Creek’s average trip to work is 14 minutes, below both California’s towns (28 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Bear Creek has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
346 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Bear Creek: who provides what
Bear Creek is unincorporated, so Merced County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bear Creek.
With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Bear Creek’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Bear Creek for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Merced (29%), Tracy (5%) and San Jose (4%). Half commute less than 30 miles.
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Bear Creek
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Bear Creek
Bear Creek has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. At 96°F, Bear Creek’s July high is above both the California town median (89°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Bear Creek is
Bear Creek beats the California average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 8.9% of Bear Creek adults smoke cigarettes.
| Bear Creek | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Bear Creek | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.7% | 10.6% |
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 63.2% | 57.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Bear Creek
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bear Creek
About 7 of every 100 Bear Creek residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
100% of working residents leave Bear Creek for work
Where Bear Creek’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Questions about Bear Creek
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bear Creek, CA a good place to live?
Bear Creek has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.