Hilmar-IrwinCA
In California, this town has 6,132 residents.
Is Hilmar-Irwin a good place to live?
Hilmar-Irwin grades low on several counts. Its overall D puts it 587th of 841 in California. Set against the rest, it does better than 12% of U.S. towns. The weak point is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $450K for a typical one and 6.9 times the Merced metro’s $66K median household income. Health is weaker too: residents are less healthy than 72% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Walkability is its strong suit (B+) — it is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 100 of California’s 1,064 towns do worse. The town’s midsummer high is 95°F, above both the California town median (89°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · USGS PAD-US · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
What makes Hilmar-Irwin stand out
Where Hilmar-Irwin beats most towns.
92% of working residents leave Hilmar-Irwin for work
Where Hilmar-Irwin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Hilmar-Irwin grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Hilmar-Irwin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Hilmar-Irwin: who provides what
Hilmar-Irwin is unincorporated, so Merced 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 Hilmar-Irwin.
Hilmar-Irwin has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of California.
On state tests, Hilmar-Irwin’s schools beat 55% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Hilmar Unified school district. Of its 6 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Hilmar High, with 696 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilmar MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 542 | – |
| Hilmar HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 696 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Hilmar-Irwin’s workers commute out
The average commute for its 2,382 working residents takes 21.8 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 17 miles. Hilmar-Irwin’s mean commuting time is 22 minutes. Only 8% of working residents stay in Hilmar-Irwin for work; the rest commute out. 13% of residents live below the poverty line here.
| Hilmar-Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $80,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hilmar-Irwin has a high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from earthquakes
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 77% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 58% of Hilmar-Irwin’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 26% to drought.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Hilmar-Irwin earns a C for health
The share of adults in Hilmar-Irwin who feel lonely: 38%. A fifth of Hilmar-Irwin adults report frequent mental distress.
| Hilmar-Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Hilmar-Irwin | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.2% | 10.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.6% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 16.6% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expect mild winters and hot summers in Hilmar-Irwin
July afternoons average 95.2°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39°.
The January low for Hilmar-Irwin comes to 39°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
| Hilmar-Irwin | 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 median home in Hilmar-Irwin sells for about $519K
Among households in Hilmar-Irwin, 54% live in a home they own. For Hilmar-Irwin, the going rate for rent is $1,536 a month.
| Hilmar-Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,536 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Castle Air Museum and 3 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hilmar-Irwin. Close and well known come first.
18 mi MuseumMcHenry Mansion
18 mi TheatreGallo Center for the Arts
22 mi TheatreMerced TheatrePhoto credits
McHenry Mansion: Rayana fazli at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Gallo Center for the Arts: OsotedeMonte, CC BY 3.0 · Merced Theatre: Mark Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Hilmar-Irwin
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hilmar-Irwin
About 9 of every 100 Hilmar-Irwin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
About Hilmar-Irwin
Census-designated place in California, United States
Hilmar-Irwin is a census-designated place (CDP) in Merced County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,164.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 92 ft
- Area code
- 209
Questions about Hilmar-Irwin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Hilmar-Irwin, CA a good place to live?
Hilmar-Irwin grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #587 of 841 in California. It grades C for health and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Hilmar-Irwin, CA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $450,000, 41% 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 D.