Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town of 13,136 people was settled in 1874.
Little here grades badly. Incomes are where it shines: the median household earns $120K. At about $398K, a typical home costs 3.2 years of the Lexington Park metro’s $126K median household income. Add health to its strengths: it is healthier than 72% of U.S. towns. The overall grade comes out at A, better than 93% of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 39th of 259 in Maryland. The biggest park or preserve is Saint Mary's River State Park, at 841 acres. On cost of living, just 27 of Maryland’s 328 towns do better.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · OpenStreetMap.
Where California beats most towns.
| Widest gap | California | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.7% | 3.4% |
Where California’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far California is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,770 in 1980, 12,947 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
California is unincorporated, so St. Mary's 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 Mar 11, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in California.
California pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Maryland norm, draws workers from Lexington Park and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
10,024 jobs are based in California, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 23.7 minutes, against 31.1 across Maryland.
For most workers, California is a place to come home to: only 15% work in town. This Maryland town had 10,024 jobs in 2023, up 4,208 from 2013. The average commute in the town is 24 minutes. The top destinations are Leonardtown (8%), Washington (6%) and Lexington Park (4%).
| California | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Median household income | $120,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 18% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the St. Mary's County Public Schools. One of its 4 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esperanza MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 835 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
California’s FEMA hazard score stands at 9 of 100, against 6 of 100 in Maryland’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2003. FEMA puts a third of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 32% to inland flooding.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 5,766 U.S. towns with household incomes like California’s, it is less healthy than 60%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
California does better than the Maryland average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. 17% of California adults binge drink, above both the Maryland town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). Among adults in the town, 36% feel lonely.
| California | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | California | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.7% | 3.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.5% | 15.4% |
| More binge drinkers | 17.4% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
7.1 miles of trail wind through 4 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in California: 4, covering 1,107 acres.
| California | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Myrtle Point Park | 4 mi | 194 |
| 2. Chancellors Run Regional Park | 1.3 mi | 69 |
| 3. Saint Mary's River State Park | 0.7 mi | 841 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expect July afternoons of 88° and January nights of 28°, with about 13 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). 44% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in California. For California, the median age is 35 years.
| California | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 42% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.8 points). Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 65% are men (MD 41%).
| California | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.7% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.5% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.1% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.6% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.4% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.6% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.3% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.5% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.8% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.1% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.7% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
California grades A overall with a typical home of about $398K, below the Maryland typical value; only 13 of the 54 Maryland towns graded A− or better can say that.
Homes sold in California spent a median 33 days on the market. A typical home here is worth about $398,000, up 2.6% in a year, 6% below the Maryland typical home. For California, the typical rent is $1,927 a month.
| California | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,927 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 63% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around California. Close and well known come first.
24 mi National MonumentGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument72K visitors a year
18 mi State parkPoint Lookout State Park
in town MuseumPatuxent River Naval Air Museum
12 mi Ancient siteU-1105
3 mi MuseumCalvert Marine Museum
7 mi MuseumJefferson Patterson Park & MuseumGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument: National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain · Point Lookout State Park: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Patuxent River Naval Air Museum: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · U-1105: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Calvert Marine Museum: Sampsonsimpson20, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of California
About 5 of every 100 California residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
CDP in Maryland, United States
California is a census-designated place and community in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,857 at the 2010 census, an increase of 27.4% from the 2000 census. There are department stores and numerous shopping centers situated along Maryland Highway 235 ("Three Notch Road"). Maryland Route 4 crosses Highway 235 in California, providing access to the narrow Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge and the popular weekend resort town of Solomons on its opposite side. Bridge-bound traffic is notorious for backing up during rush hour.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with California.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | #39 | A | B+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Wildewood | #64 | A | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Lexington Park | #96 | A− | B | — | B+ | B |
California, Wildewood and Lexington Park report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare California with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. California grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #39 of 259 in Maryland. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
