Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,587, settled in 1887. 3.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical California town.
Dunsmuir’s best subject grades are an A for walkability and history and an A+ for civic life; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 28% of residents are 65 or older in Dunsmuir, above both the California town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Only 80 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on hazard risk. Dunsmuir's schools rank behind 91% of the state's. Dunsmuir’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, against 1.0 in California’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 6 of California’s 463 towns do better. Dunsmuir Historic Commercial District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Dunsmuir has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Dunsmuir beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 1,719 in 1910, a peak of 2,873 in 1960, 1,707 in 2020. The archive holds 55 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Dunsmuir is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dunsmuir, 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 Dunsmuir.
The typical Dunsmuir home is worth about $239,000, down 1.9% in a year, 69% below the California typical home. Dunsmuir’s median rent is $1,093 a month.
| Dunsmuir | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,093 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Dunsmuir Elementary school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunsmuir ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 65 | C− |
| Dunsmuir HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 61 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 99% of U.S. communities. Since 1995, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dunsmuir.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Dunsmuir for work: only 18% work in town. The average trip to work in Dunsmuir is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Dunsmuir has added 38 jobs, to 253 in 2023.
| Dunsmuir | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Dunsmuir has lost 6.9% of its people since 2020, down to 1,587 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 20% of residents are under 18 in Dunsmuir. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Dunsmuir | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.1 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.6 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Dunsmuir | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.4% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.4% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.1% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.9% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.9% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.1% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.9% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.5% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
Dunsmuir has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 28° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Dunsmuir beats the California average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 17% of Dunsmuir adults report frequent physical distress.
| Dunsmuir | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 31% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 19% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Dunsmuir | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.3% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 12.2% | 14.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 9% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Only 3 of the 438 California towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Dunsmuir. Dunsmuir reports less crime per resident than 53% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.
| Dunsmuir | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3.1 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dunsmuir. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi MountainMount Shasta
in town WaterfallMossbrae Falls
36 mi WaterfallBurney Falls8 mi Ski areaMt. Shasta Ski Park36 runs · 2,081 ft vertical
7 mi GardenMount Shasta City Park8 mi GardenDunsmuir Botanical GardensMount Shasta: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mossbrae Falls: Pinecar at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Burney Falls: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Shasta City Park: Daniel Mayer (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens: Daniel Mayer (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Dunsmuir
About 1 of every 100 Dunsmuir residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
6 notable people were born in Dunsmuir.
City in California, United States
Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, California. It is on the upper Sacramento River. Its population is 1,707 as of the 2020 census, up from 1,650 at the 2010 census. Dunsmuir is currently a hub for tourism in Northern California, with Interstate 5 passing through it. Visitors enjoy fishing, skiing, climbing, or sight-seeing. During the steam locomotive railroad era, it was the site of an important Central Pacific (and later Southern Pacific) railroad yard, where extra steam locomotives were added to assist trains on the grade to the north.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical California town.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
6 notable people were born here, including Harold Muller and John Zenda.
