Redding, CA

Metro Area Profile

181,436 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Redding, CA metropolitan area.

40out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 5% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity486th of 835 metro and micro areas measured47
SchoolsTop 40% of 695 metro and micro areas measured57
Growth724th of 834 metro and micro areas measured26
Housing affordability720th of 835 metro and micro areas measured57
Climate637th of 835 metro and micro areas measured59
Physical resilience797th of 835 metro and micro areas measured12
Access820th of 835 metro and micro areas measured0
Economic stability514th of 835 metro and micro areas measured41
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.3% and median household income $72,636, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

In the public schools here, 40% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 150 units authorized over the past twelve months, 53% 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
181,436
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,636
Top 33% nationally
Density
48/sq mi
3,775.7 sq mi of land
Median age
41.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
California
Nearest major airport
MFR
120 mi · Rogue Valley Intl/Medford
Median home value
$366,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% — higher than in all but 18% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 76,076 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,9722024 ACS 5-Year$72,636Top 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3512024 ACS 5-Year$39,574Top 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year12.9%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.8 minTop 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year23.8%Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%47th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202676,076Top 32%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.3%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 46%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202680,31068th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year72.5%Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$65,320Top 27%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$48,920Top 38%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS71,55034th percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%64th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 43%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 18%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%59th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.04.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% 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.

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.

40% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 20.4 students for every full-time teacher across 81 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
90
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
20.4
across 81 of them
Math proficiency
40.2%
Top 23% in California
Reading proficiency
50.9%
Top 37% in California
The 12 largest of 90 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Foothill HighShasta Union High1,48723.647%72%
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%
West Valley Early College HighAnderson Union High73622.327%57%
Turtle BayRedding Elementary69221.643%42%
Mistletoe ElementaryEnterprise Elementary68224.451%67%
Redding School of the Arts · charterRedding School of the Arts District63419.244%57%
Shasta LakeGateway Unified60218.832%35%
Grant ElementaryGrant Elementary60020.065%77%
Central Valley HighGateway Unified58322.442%57%

58.3% 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 this 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 $2,542 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.69% 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 21% above the $1,317 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 88% of the median household income here of $72,636.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,317 a month.

A median home at $366,400 costs 4.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,786, 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.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
31.7%
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
$1,317
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$366,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Redding’s median household income of $72,636, 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 index2023103.0Bottom 13%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+0.9%20th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+20.3%3rd percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+68.6%16th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year4.1Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year65.6%25th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±912024 ACS 5-Year80,06873rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,212Bottom 19%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,211Bottom 12%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,590Bottom 14%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$392024 ACS 5-Year$1,317Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,3262024 ACS 5-Year$366,40084th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$562024 ACS 5-Year$2,54267th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,6452024 ACS 5-Year$89,786Top 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.69%37th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year31.7%Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3742024 ACS 5-Year2,50670th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%65th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%52nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6822024 ACS 5-Year8,83672nd percentileof 9352024 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

26/ 100
Ranks 724 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 181,121 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 150 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 9% are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
150
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.8
Bottom 15% nationally
Year over year
−53%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
9.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024182k181k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

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.

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, 21.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
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
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

12 / 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. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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 120 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year91.3%Top 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle120 miBottom 2%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year6.4%Top 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rogue Valley Intl/MedfordMFR120 mi8,800 ft
Reno/SteadRTS137 mi9,000 ft
Sacramento IntlSMF145 mi8,605 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.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.