Best PlacesTehama County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Tehama County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Tehama County ranks 2,598th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Summer heat pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on transit.
The best neighborhoods in Tehama County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Tehama County
The parts of Tehama County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Cottonwood
Local pay stretches further, more residents vote, and health care is easier to reach.
Red Bluff
It is quieter and more households have young kids.
Corning
Streets are more walkable and biking is better.
Los Molinos
More homes sit empty and incomes run lower.
Scores across Tehama County run from about the 3rd to the 53rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Tehama County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Tehama County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 82% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 126 pleasant days a year, better than 79% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 70% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 67% of counties
- BikingBetter than 66% of counties
Where Tehama County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Tehama County
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tehama County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $68,206, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Tehama County's effective rate of 0.65%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Tehama County
Tehama County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Tehama County.
Who works in Tehama County, and how
Work in Tehama County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Tehama County
Tehama County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Tehama County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Tehama County growing, and who is moving in?
Tehama County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Chico, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Tehama County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Tehama County, month by month
Tehama County sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 47° |
| July | 102° | 85° | 66° |
| October | 84° | 66° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Tehama County
The nearest airport, Redding Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around Tehama County
Schools across Tehama County average a C−, better than 21% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Kirkwood ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Plum Valley ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Evergreen ElementaryB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Evergreen MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- Berrendos MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Maywood MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Orland HighC− · 28% proficient
- Red Bluff HighC− · 27% proficient
- Chester Junior/senior HighC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tehama County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tehama County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Tehama County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Tehama County suits
Common questions about living in Tehama County
Is Tehama County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tehama County ranks 2,598th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, the weather, and few empty homes, and lowest on summer heat and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tehama County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $333,076. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $68,206 median income, cost of living beats 24% of counties.
Is Tehama County safe?
Tehama County is safer than 32% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $429 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Tehama County?
July highs average about 102 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 39. That works out to about 126 pleasant days a year, more than 79% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Tehama County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Cottonwood, Red Bluff, and Corning. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Tehama County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tehama County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tehama County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Tehama County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tehama County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tehama County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tehama County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tehama County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tehama County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.