North ForkCA
A town of 2,999, settled in 1888.
Is North Fork a good place to live?
North Fork grades D overall, 672nd of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of incomes. The median household income is $72K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 58% of the country. 41% of residents are 65 or older in North Fork, above both the California town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). On walkability, just 28 of California’s 1,063 towns do worse. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top.
How North Fork grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far North Fork is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to North Fork: who provides what
North Fork is unincorporated, so Madera 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 North Fork.
North Fork has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has property taxes about half the California norm, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
On state tests, North Fork’s schools beat 56% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Chawanakee Unified school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Fork ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 227 | – |
| Mountain Oaks HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 13 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Homes in North Fork are worth about $387K, by Zillow’s estimate
The median property tax bill is $2,245, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical North Fork home is worth about $387,000, up 2.9% in a year, 49% below the California typical home. 89% of North Fork households own their home.
| North Fork | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,399 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Very high risk in North Fork, with wildfire at the top
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
North Fork has set aside nearly a quarter of its land for conservation
12 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in North Fork is 0.4 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Fork Recreation Area Memorial Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Mild winters and hot summers in North Fork
July afternoons average 95.1°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 34.9°.
North Fork has mild winters and hot summers. North Fork’s July high is 95°F. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| North Fork | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 95°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 41°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
North Fork has 1.2 jobs for every working resident, and 1,529 people commute in
26.8% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Most working residents leave North Fork for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in North Fork grew to 1,606 in 2023, 1,311 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Fresno (29%), Oakhurst (7%) and Clovis (4%).
| North Fork | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
North Fork’s grade for health is a B
The nearest emergency room, Valley Children's Hospital, is 28.9 miles away in a straight line.
39% of adults have high blood pressure in North Fork. North Fork beats the California average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 77% of adults had a checkup this year in North Fork.
| North Fork | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | North Fork | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Yosemite National Park and 30 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Fork. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year
Big draw35 mi MountainHalf Dome
38 mi National ParkKings Canyon National Park780K visitors a year
40 mi Ski areaMammoth Mountain153 runs · 2,962 ft vertical
34 mi National MonumentDevils Postpile National Monument100K visitors a year
32 mi Stadium & arenaValley Children's StadiumPhoto credits
Yosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Half Dome: Jon Sullivan, Public domain · Kings Canyon National Park: NileGuide.com (Josh Steinitz), CC BY 2.0 · Mammoth Mountain: Hike395 (talk · contribs), CC BY 3.0 · Devils Postpile National Monument: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Valley Children's Stadium: Emedina00, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Everything we know about North Fork
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of North Fork; the nearest are
About 7 of every 100 North Fork residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
About North Fork
Unincorporated community in California, United States
North Fork (formerly Brown's and Northfork; Mono wa?ahhpY', "cedar grove") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Madera County, California, United States. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, it had a population of 3,250 at the 2020 United States census. North Fork lies within the traditional homeland of the North Fork Mono and is the headquarters of the Northfork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California. Euro-American settlement developed in the 1860s around a stopping place known as Brown's Place. The settlement became known as North Fork following the establishment of the North Fork Lumber Company and the opening of the North Fork post office in the…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 2,638 ft
- ZIP code
- 93643
Questions about North Fork
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is North Fork, CA a good place to live?
North Fork grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #672 of 841 in California. It grades B for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is North Fork, CA expensive?
Yes. That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($74,468 across the Fresno, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.