Redding, California

Area Profile

93,409 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Redding, in Shasta County.

40out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,679th of 4,199 cities measured50
Schools2,384th of 4,162 cities measured44
Growth3,489th of 4,224 cities measured32
Housing affordability2,870th of 4,218 cities measured58
Climate3,678th of 4,225 cities measured59
Physical resilience3,845th of 4,226 cities measured13
Access4,205th of 4,226 cities measured0
Economic stability3,263rd of 4,226 cities measured41
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.1% and median household income $70,466, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 94 units authorized over the past twelve months, 60% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
93,409
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$70,466
Top 45% nationally
Density
1,571/sq mi
59.5 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Metro area
Nearest major airport
MFR
127 mi · Rogue Valley Intl/Medford
Median home value
$382,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.1% — higher than in all but 22% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 41,015 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsShasta County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,26939th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftShasta County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,21423rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,2952024 ACS 5-Year$70,466Top 45%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5242024 ACS 5-Year$38,911Top 35%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%Bottom 40%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.7 minTop 11%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 36%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.8%52nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202641,015Bottom 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.6%Top 15%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 48%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202643,20042nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.1%Bottom 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageRedding, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,320Bottom 34%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageRedding, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,920Bottom 32%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.1%Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%58th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.93.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.1% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202470k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $70,466 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Redding, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides5,500$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,930$39,160
Cashiers1,920$34,900
Retail Salespersons1,880$36,450
Registered Nurses1,720$134,350
Office Clerks, General1,370$45,120

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 20.7 students for every full-time teacher across 36 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
38
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
20.7
across 36 of them
Math proficiency
41.5%
Top 44% in California
Reading proficiency
52.3%
Bottom 46% in California
The 12 largest of 38 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Shasta HighShasta Union High1,26820.542%51%
Enterprise HighShasta Union High1,14821.743%73%
University Preparatory · charterUniversity Preparatory District1,00921.565%75%
Boulder Creek ElementaryEnterprise Elementary83923.346%54%
Turtle BayRedding Elementary69221.643%42%
Mistletoe ElementaryEnterprise Elementary68224.451%67%
Redding School of the Arts · charterRedding School of the Arts District63419.244%57%
Grant ElementaryGrant Elementary60020.065%77%
Manzanita ElementaryRedding Elementary54522.752%60%
Parsons Junior HighEnterprise Elementary52219.330%42%
Shasta View Academy · charterShasta View Academy District49320.5——
Buckeye School of the ArtsGateway Unified48220.130%29%

59.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 103.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Redding, CA Metro Area is up 20% over five years, and up 0.9% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,673 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.70% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,590, some 15% above the $1,379 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,590 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $63,600 a year, about 90% of the median household income here of $70,466.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,379 a month.

A median home at $382,300 costs 4.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $92,958, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
103.0

Prices here run about 3% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Redding, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,590
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,379
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$382,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Redding’s median household income of $70,466, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Redding, CA Metro Area’s figure2023103.0Bottom 40%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Redding, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.9%20th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Redding, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+20.3%5th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Redding, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+68.6%13th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year4.1Bottom 16%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year54.8%14th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6112024 ACS 5-Year40,40799th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,212Top 38%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,211Bottom 49%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,590Top 46%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$442024 ACS 5-Year$1,379Bottom 24%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,2022024 ACS 5-Year$382,30081st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$642024 ACS 5-Year$2,67368th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,1032024 ACS 5-Year$92,958Top 33%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.70%29th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.2%Bottom 35%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1712024 ACS 5-Year33696th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%60th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%55th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4842024 ACS 5-Year3,56099th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

32/ 100
Ranks 3,489 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 93,502 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 94 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 15% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Shasta County, which contains Redding, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $66,269, above the $59,214 of households that moved out.

At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
94
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.0
Bottom 26% nationally
Year over year
−60%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
14.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202494k93k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
34%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$66,269
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$59,214
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Tehama County, CA 674 people · 10% of arrivals
  2. Sacramento County, CA 368 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  3. Butte County, CA 226 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  4. Humboldt County, CA 207 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Los Angeles County, CA 192 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Tehama County, CA 639 people · 10% of departures
  2. Butte County, CA 286 people · 4.5% of departures
  3. Sacramento County, CA 239 people · 3.8% of departures
  4. Humboldt County, CA 132 people · 2.1% of departures
  5. San Diego County, CA 129 people · 2.0% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Shasta County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202523794
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−9%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 100°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.5 inches, including 2.6 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station REDDING MUNI AP, 5.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year672024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals2.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals100°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
67
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

13 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 53% of it.

WildfireHigh
EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
Heat waveModerate
DroughtModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, winter weather, lightning, hail, tornado, strong wind, cold wave, ice storm, tsunami, coastal flooding, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
735
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,663
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Redding's police department reported 735 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,663.

Shasta County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 30.5 per 100,000 residents in Shasta County.

Homicide
4.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
30.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
18.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Redding’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Redding (Shasta County) rather than Redding itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 127 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year93.9%Top 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle127 miBottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year3.8%Top 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rogue Valley Intl/MedfordMFR127 mi8,800 ft
Sacramento IntlSMF136 mi8,605 ft
Mc Clellan AirfieldMCC141 mi10,599 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
40
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Redding, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
AndersonShasta County11,25537Anderson vs Redding
Shasta LakeShasta County10,31137Shasta Lake vs Redding

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Redding side by side with a similar place.

Redding vs CharlestonRedding vs Eureka

Moving to Redding from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Redding

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Redding with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Redding closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9600344,923$72,445$402,900—
9600133,817$72,484$401,500—
9600233,783$73,222$367,200—