Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
33% more nonprofits per person than the typical California town.
Red Bluff grades D− overall, 832nd among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 168 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $52K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns. Red Bluff’s violent crime rate is 11.9 per 1,000 residents, above both California’s towns (2.9) and U.S. towns (1.6). FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Red Bluff has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Odd Fellows Building and Old Bank of America Building.
Where Red Bluff beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Odd Fellows BuildingEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Red Bluff is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 992 in 1870, 14,710 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1915 and 3 maps from 1905 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Red Bluff, 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 Red Bluff.
Red Bluff has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the California rate and is a long drive from an emergency room.
Violent crime runs at 11.9 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the California rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes fell from 1,018 to 588 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Red Bluff reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less. The property crime rate in Red Bluff is 29.6 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Two of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vista Preparatory AcademyLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 541 | C+ |
| Red Bluff HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,586 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $1,775, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Red Bluff home is worth about $310,000, up 3.1% in a year, 59% below the California typical home. 43% of Red Bluff households own their home.
| Red Bluff | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 43% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,121 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Since 1980, 41 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Red Bluff.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The nearest emergency room, Mercy Medical Center Redding, is 28.8 miles away in a straight line. Against the 6,311 U.S. towns with household incomes like Red Bluff’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
26% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Red Bluff. Red Bluff beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 13% of adults have diabetes in Red Bluff.
| Red Bluff | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 19% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Red Bluff | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9% | 5.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.6% | 10.6% |
| More smokers | 17% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 97.7°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 38.6°.
Red Bluff has mild winters and hot summers. Red Bluff’s July high is 98°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Red Bluff | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 98°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Red Bluff has about as many jobs (6,143) as working residents, but only 1,509 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 20.1 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
About one in 4 of Red Bluff’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Redding (10%), Chico (4%) and Sacramento (2%). Half commute less than 21 miles.
| Red Bluff | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 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 | 7.7% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1.0 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves.
| Red Bluff | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. River Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
| 2. Forward Park | — | 14 |
| 3. Dog Island Park | 0.2 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Red Bluff; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Red Bluff residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
6 places in Red Bluff on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Red Bluff.
City in California, United States
Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. Its population was 14,710 at the 2020 census, up from 14,076 at the 2010 census. It is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) north of Sacramento, 31 mi (50 km) south of Redding, and it is bisected by Interstate 5. Red Bluff is situated on the banks of the upper Sacramento River where a Historic Chinatown District was established on October 29, 2022. As early as 1852, four years after the first contingent of Chinese arrived in California to work the gold mines during the California Gold Rush, a Chinatown was created to serve the growing population arriving at the last steamboat stop known as Head of Navigati…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Red Bluff grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #832 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 4.9 years of the area's median household income ($63,784 across the Red Bluff, CA 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−.
13 notable people were born here, including Robert Shaw and Tom Bruce.
