Bear CreekCA
The town was settled in 1871 and has 346 residents today.
Is Bear Creek a good place to live?
Bear Creek’s mean commuting time 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.
Most of Bear Creek’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.1 jobs for each of them
Half commute less than 30 miles. The top destinations are Merced (29%), Tracy (5%) and San Jose (4%).
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards: high risk in Bear Creek, mostly inland flooding
For Bear Creek, the FEMA risk score is 69 of 100. Expected losses in Bear Creek break down as 53% from inland flooding and 27% from drought.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Bear Creek
Bear Creek’s typical July afternoon high comes in at 96°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Bear Creek is
Bear Creek: 27% of adults get no exercise outside work. In Bear Creek, 19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression, and 73% had a checkup this year.
| 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
Homes in Bear Creek sell for about $237K
80% of households live in a home they own in Bear Creek.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
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.