RedwayCA
A town of 1,145, settled in 1953.
Is Redway a good place to live?
The best of Redway’s subject grades is an A+ for walkability; the weakest is a D− for incomes. Only 49 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on the outdoors. Redway has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Redway stand out
Where Redway beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
1,145 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Redway grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Redway is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Redway: who provides what
Redway is unincorporated, so Humboldt 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 Redway.
Redway’s typical home value is about $276K
Among households in Redway, 34% own their home. Values fell 17% in the year to September 2026.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
On state tests, Redway’s schools trail 76% of California districts
Public schools: the Southern Humboldt Joint Unified school district. Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redway ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 272 | – |
| Osprey Learning CenterLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 9 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Redway stands out in California and nationally: a larger share of its adults report frequent physical distress
Redway: 28% of adults worry about having enough food. Just over a third of Redway adults say their health is fair or poor, above both California’s towns (22%) and U.S. towns (19%). Among 848 California towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Redway.
| Redway | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Redway | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.8% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 23.6% | 10.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.4% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A larger share of residents live below the poverty line in Redway than in most of California or the rest of the country
Redway’s average commute stands at 13 minutes, where California’s towns sit at 28 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. 15% of working residents work locally here. For half of commuters, work is under 49 miles away. The top destinations are Garberville (5%), Sacramento (4%) and Eureka (4%).
| Redway | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 37% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Redway faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
On expected storm and flood damage, Redway sits above 99% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 63% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 28% to earthquakes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. John B. Dewitt Redwoods State Natural Reserve | — | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Redway
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Redway; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Redway residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Every workday, about 367 people come to Redway for work
Where Redway’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Questions about Redway
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Redway, CA expensive?
Yes. That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($61,160 across the Eureka-Arcata, 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−.