172 years in pictures
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1854Lewiston is settled
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

A town of 2,020, settled in 1854.
Lewiston’s best subject grade is a B for the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Lewiston Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lewiston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Lewiston’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Lewiston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lewiston is unincorporated, so Trinity 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Lewiston.
The midpoint rent for Lewiston comes to $1,113 a month, below both California’s towns ($1,896 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Nearly two thirds of households live in a home they own locally. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 1.1%.
| Lewiston | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,113 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The public schools here belong to the Lewiston Elementary school district. Its one school is below. Enrollment at the town’s public school: 68 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewiston ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 68 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests
Households in Lewiston have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2021. Expected losses in Lewiston break down as 53% from wildfires and 42% from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Lewiston, 29% of adults get no exercise outside work, against 24% in California’s towns and 25% across U.S. towns. 16% of Lewiston adults have diabetes. CDC measures, 32 in all: Lewiston beats California on 5 and trails on 17.
| Lewiston | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 31% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Lewiston | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.1% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 23.9% | 28.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 12% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The top destinations are Weaverville (31%), Redding (5%) and Sacramento (2%). Lewiston had 113 jobs in 2023, up 27 from 2013. Its mean commuting time is 32 minutes. The median commute is under 26 miles.
| Lewiston | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 94°, January nights drop to 34° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Across 2 parks and preserves: 11 miles of trail. Lewiston’s concentration of trails is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Lewiston | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.5% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area - Trinity Unit | — | 237 |
| 2. Lewiston Community Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lewiston. Close and well known come first.
7 mi National forestShasta–Trinity National Forest
7 mi MuseumWeaverville Joss House State Historic Park
7 mi National Recreation AreaWhiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area764K visitors a year
24 mi MuseumTurtle Bay Exploration Park
24 mi TheatreCascade Theatre
24 mi GardenMcConnell Arboretum & Botanical GardensShasta–Trinity National Forest: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area: RoyalMayfair, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Turtle Bay Exploration Park: DimiTalen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cascade Theatre: Publichall, CC BY-SA 3.0 · McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens: Daderot, CC0
None within 15 miles of Lewiston; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Lewiston residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
One town shares a border with Lewiston.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewiston | — | — | C | — | D | C− |
| Douglas City | — | — | C− | — | A+ | D |
Lewiston and Douglas City have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Lewiston and Douglas City report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lewiston with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($53,002 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.