Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Live Oak is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 435th of 841 graded towns in California, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 59% of California towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $74K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $389K, 5 years of the Yuba City metro’s $78K median household income. Live Oak’s July high is 96°F, above both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). On hazard risk, just 30 of California’s 1,064 towns do better. Live Oak's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Live Oak beats most towns.
Where Live Oak’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 Live Oak is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,770 in 1950, 9,106 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 3 maps from 1912 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Live Oak, 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 Live Oak.
Live Oak carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of California (mostly inland flooding), has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has property taxes about half the California norm.
The median property tax bill is $2,068, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Live Oak’s median rent is $1,014 a month. The typical Live Oak home is worth about $389,000, up 0.7% in a year, 49% below the California typical home.
| Live Oak | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,014 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Live Oak Unified school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Live Oak High, with 603 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luther ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 867 | – |
| Live Oak HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 603 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 621 in 2013 to 1,134.
Most working residents leave Live Oak for work: only 7% work in town. Jobs based in Live Oak grew to 1,134 in 2023, 513 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Yuba City (16%), Sacramento (6%) and Marysville (4%).
| Live Oak | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $74,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Live Oak beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 28% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Live Oak.
| Live Oak | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 16% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Live Oak | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 15.7% | 10.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.3% | 17.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.6% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Colusa 2 Ssw weather station, 20 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 293 days, longer than in 97% of U.S. towns. The Colusa 2 Ssw weather station, 20 miles away, records that about 85 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Live Oak has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The January low in Live Oak is 39°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 97% of California towns, with expected losses of about $123 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1983, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Live Oak.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.0 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Live Oak Soccer Park, at 25 acres.
| Live Oak | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.6% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Live Oak Soccer Park | 0.7 mi | 25 |
| 2. Live Oak Memorial Park | — | 7 |
| 3. Pennington Ranch Park | 0.1 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Live Oak
About 4 of every 100 Live Oak residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
City in California, United States
Live Oak is an incorporated city in Sutter County, California, United States. It is part of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area within the Greater Sacramento CSA, and includes a hamlet historically named Stafford. The population was 9,106 at the 2020 census, up from 8,392 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.
Live Oak grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #435 of 841 in California. It grades C for health and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
