Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,506, settled in 1911.
Planada grades D overall, ranked 656th of 841 in California, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $43K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 87% of the country. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns. Planada’s July high is 96°F, where California’s towns sit at 89°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. On hazard risk, just 23 of California’s 1,064 towns do better.
Where Planada beats most towns.
Where Planada’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 Planada is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,704 in 1960, 4,164 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2001 and 3 maps from 1918 on.
Planada 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Planada.
Planada carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of California (mostly drought), has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
The median property tax bill is $1,737, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Planada’s typical rent stands at $1,036 a month. Values rose 1.7% in the 12 months to September 2026. 50% of Planada households are owner-occupiers.
| Planada | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,036 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Planada Elementary school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planada ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 583 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
2.7 miles of trail. The density of trails for Planada comes to 1.6 miles per square mile.
| Planada | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.6 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 3,259 U.S. towns with household incomes like Planada’s, it is healthier than 50%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
In Planada, 16% of adults have diabetes. The town does better than the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 19. Among adults in the town, 40% get no exercise outside work and 39% worry about having enough food.
| Planada | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 22% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 24% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Planada | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.3% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 27.4% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Planada has 286 jobs for its 1,052 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Half of commuters travel less than 38 miles. Since 2013, Planada has added 136 jobs, to 286 in 2023. Most people who work leave Planada to do it: just 4% work in town. The top destinations are Merced (16%), Fresno (5%) and San Jose (4%).
| Planada | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Merced weather station, 11 miles away, records that about 106 days a year reach 90°, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 96.1°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 38.4°.
Snow almost never falls. The town’s January low is 38°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 97% of California towns; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
One declared disaster, in 2022, has brought federal aid to Planada households. The FEMA hazard score here is 37 of 100. FEMA puts 56% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to drought, and 22% to inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Planada
About 4 of every 100 Planada residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Planada (Spanish for "Plain") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Merced County, California, United States. Planada is 9 miles (14 km) east of Merced, the county seat, at an elevation of 226 feet (69 m). The population was 4,164 at the 2020 census, down from 4,584 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.
Planada grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #656 of 841 in California. It grades D for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($65,510 across the Merced, 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.