EmpireCA
A town of 3,429, settled in 1851.
Is Empire a good place to live?
Empire grades D− overall, 806th among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $53K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Empire, above both the California town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On walkability, just 91 of California’s 1,063 towns do worse.
99% of working residents leave Empire for work
Where Empire’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Empire grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Empire is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Empire: who provides what
Empire 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 Empire.
Empire has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has property taxes about half the California norm, but it has poverty well above the California rate.
Empire’s grade for health is a D
32% of Empire adults say their health is fair or poor. Empire beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 37% of Empire adults get no exercise outside work.
| Empire | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 22% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 24% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Empire | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.9% | 7.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 18.2% | 10.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.5% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Public schools in Empire fall behind 64% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Empire Union Elementary school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norman N. Glick MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 602 | – |
| Teel School in EmpireLargest public high schoolGrades 5–12 | Grades 5–12 | 125 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
A smaller share of working residents work locally in Empire than in most of California or the rest of the country
Jobs based here grew from 415 in 2013 to 663.
0.7% of working residents work locally in Empire. Since 2013, Empire has added 248 jobs, to 663 in 2023. The average trip to work in Empire is 23 minutes.
| Empire | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $53,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.7% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
High risk in Empire, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 70% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Empire since 1997.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Empire
July afternoons average 94.9°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39°.
Empire has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Empire’s July high is 95°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Empire | 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
| Empire | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Empire Community Park | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Empire sell for about $313K
The median property tax bill is $1,353, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Empire
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Empire
About 3 of every 100 Empire residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Empire
Place in California, United States
Empire is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 4,202 at the 2020 census, up from 4,189 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Empire is agriculturally active, and is home to the new Empire Community Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 118 ft
- ZIP code
- 95319
Empire’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Empire.
Empire reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Empire with a neighbor →
Questions about Empire
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Empire, CA a good place to live?
Empire grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #806 of 841 in California. It grades D for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Empire, 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+.