BystromCA
A town of 4,143.
Is Bystrom a good place to live?
Bystrom earns a D−, 778th among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally. The median household income is $49K, and 34% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Bystrom, above both the California town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 81 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on the outdoors. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top.
What makes Bystrom stand out
Where Bystrom beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Bystrom | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.6% | 7.3% |
99% of working residents leave Bystrom for work
Where Bystrom’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Bystrom grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Bystrom is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Bystrom: who provides what
Bystrom 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 Bystrom.
Bystrom has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Modesto and beyond, but it has poverty well above the California rate.
A larger share of adults in Bystrom report frequent mental distress than in the typical California or U.S. town
Bystrom: just over a fifth of adults smoke cigarettes. Only 7 of the 847 California towns we compare have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Bystrom. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Bystrom is ahead of California on 1 and behind on 22.
| Bystrom | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 11% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 29% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Bystrom | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.5% | 6.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.6% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On state tests, Bystrom’s schools trail 75% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Modesto City Elementary school district. Bystrom’s only public school teaches 624 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuolumne ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 624 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Natural hazards: very high risk in Bystrom, mostly inland flooding
FEMA puts 59% of Bystrom’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 38% to earthquakes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bystrom stands out in California and nationally: a smaller share of its working residents work locally
Bystrom has 293 jobs for its 1,250 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
The top destinations are Modesto (21%), Ceres (6%) and Turlock (4%). For workers in Bystrom, the share who work remotely from home is 3.1%. Half of commuters travel less than 20 miles.
| Bystrom | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 3.1% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.7% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect mild winters and hot summers in Bystrom
July afternoons average 94.8°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39.2°.
For Bystrom, the peak summer temperature is 95°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
| Bystrom | 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
A home in Bystrom sells for about $364K at the median
76.8% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 55.3% across California. The median property tax bill is $1,783, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The going rate for rent for Bystrom comes to $1,189 a month. In Bystrom, 59% of households are owner-occupiers.
| Bystrom | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,189 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 Bystrom
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bystrom
About 4 of every 100 Bystrom residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Bystrom
Place in California, United States
Bystrom is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 3,957 at the 2020 census, down from 4,008 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 89 ft
Bystrom’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Bystrom.
Bystrom reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bystrom with a neighbor →
Questions about Bystrom
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bystrom, CA a good place to live?
Bystrom grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #778 of 841 in California. It grades D− for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Bystrom, CA expensive?
The typical home is worth about $319,000, 58% 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.