Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,697, settled in 1891.
Dos Palos earns a D−, ranked 783rd of 841 in California, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $42K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns. Dos Palos’ trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile, below both California’s towns (1.0) and U.S. towns (0.4). Dos Palos's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top.
Where Dos Palos beats most towns.
4,950 counted in 2010 and 5,798 in 2020; an estimated 5,697 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Dos Palos is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 92% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 4%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 978 in 1940, 5,798 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1938 and a map from 1982 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dos Palos, 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 Dos Palos.
Dos Palos has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has household incomes well below the California norm.
The median property tax bill is $1,663, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Dos Palos home is worth about $358,000, about the same as a year ago, 53% below the California typical home. At $1,125 a month, Dos Palos’ median rent is against $1,898 a month in California’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. 60% of households own their home in Dos Palos.
| Dos Palos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,125 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint Unified school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Dos Palos High, with 639 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dos Palos ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 579 | – |
| Dos Palos HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 639 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Against the 3,147 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dos Palos’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
34% of Dos Palos adults say their health is fair or poor. Dos Palos beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 38% of Dos Palos adults get no exercise outside work.
| Dos Palos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 24% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Dos Palos | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 21.5% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Dos Palos’ violent crime rate is 4.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Dos Palos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Since 2013, Dos Palos has added 155 jobs, to 980 in 2023. About one in 5 of Dos Palos’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Los Banos (9%), Fresno (7%) and Chowchilla (2%).
| Dos Palos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $42,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Los Banos weather station, 14 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 322 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. The Los Banos weather station, 14 miles away, records that about 97 days a year reach 90°, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Dos Palos has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Dos Palos is 94°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pierini Park | — | 4 |
| 2. Des Park | — | 3 |
| 3. O'Bannion County Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Dos Palos; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Dos Palos residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
4 notable people were born in Dos Palos.
City in California, United States
Dos Palos (Spanish for "Two Timbers") is a city in southern Merced County, California, United States. Dos Palos is located 27 miles (43 km) south-southwest of Merced, the county seat, at an elevation of 118 feet (36 m). The population was 5,798 at the 2020 census, up from 4,950 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dos Palos grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #783 of 841 in California. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 5.5 years of the area's median household income ($65,510 across the Merced, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
4 notable people were born here, including Myron Joseph Cotta and Cody Martin.
