Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oroville earns a D−, ranked 835th of 841 in California, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its crime rate is higher than 98% of U.S. towns, with 173 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $52K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it has 10 miles of trail. Oroville’s violent crime rate is 8.8 per 1,000 residents, where California’s towns sit at 2.9 and U.S. towns at 1.6. On history, just 70 of California’s 1,063 towns do better. Riverbend Park, at 116 acres with 2.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Oroville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 2,429 in 1860, a low of 1,425 in 1870, 20,042 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1863 and 3 maps from 1912 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Oroville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oroville, 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 Oroville.
Oroville draws workers from Chico and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the California rate.
Violent crime runs at 8.8 per 1,000 residents, about twice the California rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes fell from 1,180 to 859 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Oroville is 34.9 per 1,000 residents. Oroville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Two of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| STREAM CharterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 515 | B+ |
| Oroville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 872 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
The typical value, about $302K, is 10% below its July 2022 peak. At about $302K, home values are down 3% in five years, against a rise of 13% across California.
The typical Oroville home is worth about $302,000, down 1.3% in a year, 60% below the California typical home. Oroville’s median rent is $1,093 a month.
| Oroville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,093 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
11,067 jobs are based in Oroville, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19.9 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
About one in 3 of Oroville’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Oroville has added 1,009 jobs, to 11,067 in 2023. 7.5% of workers work from home in Oroville.
| Oroville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.5% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,552 U.S. towns with household incomes like Oroville’s, it is less healthy than 57%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
27% of Oroville adults have been diagnosed with depression. Oroville beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 13% of Oroville adults have diabetes.
| Oroville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 11% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oroville | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.6% | 10.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.2% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 18.7% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverbend Park | 2.5 mi | 116 |
| 2. Hewitt Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
| 3. Nelson Park | 0.2 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons average 96.3°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39.2°.
Oroville has mild winters and hot summers.
| Oroville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oroville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Oroville
About 4 of every 100 Oroville residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
15,546 counted in 2010 and 20,042 in 2020; an estimated 20,451 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 places in Oroville on the National Register of Historic Places.
15 notable people were born in Oroville.
City in California, United States
Oroville (Oro, Spanish for "Gold" and Ville, French for "town") is a city in and the county seat of Butte County of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, Oroville had a population of 20,042. After the 2018 Camp Fire that destroyed much of the town of Paradise, Oroville's population increased as many people who lost their homes moved there. Oroville is considered the gateway to Lake Oroville and Feather River recreational areas. The Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California is headquartered in Oroville. Oroville is adjacent to State Route 70 and in close proximity to State Route 99, which connects Butte County with Interstate 5. The city of Chico is about 23 miles (…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Oroville.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oroville | #835 | D− | C− | D− | C− | C− |
| Oroville East | #745 | D− | C− | — | C− | B− |
| Thermalito | #812 | D− | C+ | — | C | C− |
| South Oroville | #809 | D− | C− | — | C− | C+ |
| Palermo | #840 | D− | C− | — | C− | D |
Oroville East, Thermalito, South Oroville and Palermo report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oroville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oroville grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #835 of 841 in California. It grades C− for health, D− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($67,928 across the Chico, 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−.
15 notable people were born here, including Doug LaMalfa and Jack Yerman.
