Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,603, settled in 1901. 2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical California town.
Weed earns a D, 686th of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $39K, and 34% of residents live below the poverty line. It reports more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, including 12 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Weed, against 10% in California’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 14 of California’s 463 towns score higher on civic life. Weed is home to College of the Siskiyous.
Where Weed beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Weed is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,739 in 1950, 2,862 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 4 maps from 1922 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Weed. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi MountainMount Shasta
13 mi WaterfallMossbrae Falls11 mi Ski areaMt. Shasta Ski Park36 runs · 2,081 ft vertical
7 mi GardenMount Shasta City Park22 mi GardenDunsmuir Botanical GardensMount Shasta: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mossbrae Falls: Pinecar at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Mount Shasta City Park: Daniel Mayer (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens: Daniel Mayer (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Weed, 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 Weed.
Weed fares better on crime within California than nationally, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
18 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Weed is 3.7 miles per square mile.
| Weed | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 3.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charles Byrd Park | — | 8 |
| 2. Bel Air Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Weed Union Elementary school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weed ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 268 | – |
| Weed HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 187 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
68.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 55.3% across California. The median property tax bill is $1,360, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Weed’s median rent is $788 a month. The typical Weed home is worth about $308,000, about the same as a year ago, 60% below the California typical home. 49% of Weed households own their home.
| Weed | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $788 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 49% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 86% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 34.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of California’s graded towns.
Weed reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less.
| Weed | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.7 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Mt Shasta weather station, 7 miles away, records that 89 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 27.6°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 91% of California places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.4°.
Weed has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain.
| Weed | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 28°F | 41°F | 22°F |
| July high | 87°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 945 working residents takes 16.8 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
26% of working residents work locally in Weed. Jobs based in Weed fell to 1,209 in 2023, 64 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Mount Shasta (16%), Yreka (10%) and Redding (5%).
| Weed | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 2,068 U.S. towns with household incomes like Weed’s, it is healthier than 91%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Weed beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15.
| Weed | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 22% | 23% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Weed | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.5% | 10.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.8% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Weed
About 14 of every 100 Weed residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
4 notable people were born in Weed.
City in California, United States
Weed is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 2,862, down from 2,967 in 2010. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just outside of Weed, including Edgewood, Carrick, and Lake Shastina. These communities generally have mailing addresses that use Weed or its ZIP Code. Weed is about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark, and the second tallest volcano in the Cascade Range. Weed's city motto is "Weed like to welcome you". Weed has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Weed grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #686 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Pamela Courson and Maurice A. Preston.
