Bret HarteCA
With 4,757 residents, it is a town in California.
Is Bret Harte a good place to live?
Bret Harte’s weakest subject is health (D−): CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country. It also trails on incomes (D): the median household income is $52K, and 42% of residents live below the poverty line. Homes run about $335K for a typical one, 4.1 times the Modesto metro’s $81K median household income. Walkability is its strong suit (B+): it is more walkable than two thirds of U.S. towns. The overall grade lands at D−, better than 2% of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 770th of 841 in California. 43% of residents live below the poverty line locally, above both the California town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On hazard risk, just 33 of California’s 1,064 towns do better.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index.
98% of working residents leave Bret Harte for work
Where Bret Harte’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Bret Harte grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Bret Harte is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Bret Harte: who provides what
Bret Harte is unincorporated, so Stanislaus 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 Bret Harte.
Bret Harte carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of California (mostly earthquakes) and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has poverty well above the California rate.
More of Bret Harte’s adults get no exercise outside work than in the typical California or U.S. town
15% of Bret Harte adults have diabetes. This California town does better than the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 22. Two figures for adults here: 44% have obesity, 22% report frequent mental distress.
| Bret Harte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 22% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bret Harte | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.7% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 29.1% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bret Harte stands out in California and nationally, with more of its residents who live below the poverty line
Bret Harte has 153 jobs for its 1,468 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Half of commuters travel less than 21 miles. Jobs in Bret Harte grew by 56 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 153. The average trip to work here is 31 minutes. Most people who work leave Bret Harte to do it: just 2% work in town.
| Bret Harte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 43% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mild winters and hot summers in Bret Harte
July afternoons average 94.6°, hotter than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39.1°.
Bret Harte’s peak summer temperature is 95°F. Snow almost never falls.
| Bret Harte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 95°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 41°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest natural risk in Bret Harte is earthquakes, at a low overall level
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of California towns, with expected losses of about $169 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
The natural-hazard score from FEMA for Bret Harte comes to 38 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 56% come from earthquakes and 30% from inland flooding. Since 2000, Bret Harte has seen 2 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Open space protected for good: 1.2% of Bret Harte
Across 1 park or preserve: 0.1 miles of trail. For Bret Harte, the trail density is 0.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: one, of 5 acres.
| Bret Harte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairview Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Bret Harte sells for about $395K
The median property tax bill is $1,573, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Among households in the town, 37% live in a home they own. Bret Harte’s rent at the middle of the market stands at $1,384 a month.
| Bret Harte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 37% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,384 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Bret Harte
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bret Harte
About 7 of every 100 Bret Harte residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
About Bret Harte
Place in California, United States
Bret Harte is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 5,135 at the 2020 census, down from 5,152 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is named for the American poet and short story writer, Bret Harte, best known for his writings about the California Gold Rush.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.6 sq mi
Questions about Bret Harte
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bret Harte, CA a good place to live?
Bret Harte grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #770 of 841 in California. It grades D− for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Bret Harte, CA expensive?
The typical home is worth about $335,000, 56% below the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.