Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wasco earns a D−, 759th of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 87% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $52K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns. Wasco’s July high is 98°F, above both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). On hazard risk, just 53 of California’s 1,064 towns do better. Wasco's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 100% of U.S. towns.
Where Wasco’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 Wasco is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,592 in 1950, 27,047 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1913 and 4 maps from 1930 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wasco, 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 Wasco.
Wasco carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of California (mostly earthquakes), has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
The median property tax bill is $1,989, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Wasco home is worth about $313,000, down 1% in a year, 59% below the California typical home. Wasco’s median rent is $1,089 a month.
| Wasco | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,089 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 58% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Wasco Union Elementary school district. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Avenue MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 631 | C− |
| Wasco HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,672 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,367 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wasco’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
34% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Wasco. Wasco beats the California average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 37% of adults worry about having enough food in Wasco.
| Wasco | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 16% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 66% | 72% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Wasco | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.4% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 16.6% | 20.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 26.1% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Wasco for work: only 17% work in town. The average trip to work in Wasco is 23 minutes. Since 2013, Wasco has added 604 jobs, to 5,450 in 2023.
| Wasco | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Wasco weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 315 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. The Wasco weather station records that about 126 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Wasco has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 98°, January nights drop to 39° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Wasco | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Westside Park | 0.6 mi | 15 |
| 2. Barker Park | 0.5 mi | 16 |
| 3. Cormack Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Wasco's reported crime rate is below California's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 93 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Wasco | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 94% of California towns, with expected losses of about $201 per resident a year; that rating is what its B− for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Wasco; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Wasco residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 notable people were born in Wasco.
City in California, United States
Wasco (formerly Dewey and Deweyville) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California, United States. Wasco is located 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 328 feet (100 m). The population was 27,047 at the 2020 census, up from 25,545 at the 2010 census. Wasco is the headquarters of the Tejon Indian Tribe of California, a federally recognized tribe of Kitanemuk, Yokuts, and Chumash Indigenous people of California.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wasco grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #759 of 841 in California. It grades D for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($70,210 across the Bakersfield-Delano, 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.
5 notable people were born here, including Suzanne Lacy and Pablo Garza.
