Jobs, pay and daily life in Chico, from official statistics with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Chico is a city in California with 102,188 residents. The median household earns $66,977 a year and the median rent is $1,488 a month, which is 26.7% of the median household income. It is part of the Chico, CA metropolitan area, where BLS counts 78,220 jobs.
How Chico compares. Among the 145 places in California, Chico is #74 by population, #143 for household income (#1 = highest), #5 for long commutes (#1 = fewest), #6 for rent (#1 = cheapest). Its county, Butte County, is #39 of 58 counties for average pay ($57,521).
Chico has 102,188 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.3% of the population of California. It covers 34 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 2,973 people per square mile. The median age is 31.1, 18% younger than the state median (31.1 against 37.9).
The median gross rent is $1,488 a month (rent plus utilities), 27% below the state median ($1,488 against $2,036). Over a year that is 26.7% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $468,100, which is 7.0 times the median household income ($66,977); a ratio above 5 usually means buying is out of reach without savings or a second income. 43.4% of households own their home, 22% below the state average (43.4% against 55.9%). A low ownership share points to a rental-heavy market with more apartments and shorter stays.
The Chico, CA metropolitan area has 78,220 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $48,050 a year, 6% below the national median ($48,050 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are healthcare support (8,650 jobs, median $35,470); office and administrative support (8,420 jobs, median $47,880); food preparation and serving related (7,910 jobs, median $37,600). The area is most specialised in healthcare support (2.2 times) and educational instruction and library (1.4 times), where the share of workers is well above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are healthcare practitioners and technical ($126,030) and educational instruction and library ($68,590). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Butte County was 5.9%. 66.2% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Butte County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.
Among workers, 68.6% drive alone, 0.9% use public transit, 3.6% walk, 13.5% work from home. 8.0% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 59% below the state average (8.0% against 19.4%).
42.2% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 14% above the state share (42.2% against 37.1%). 8.5% of residents were born outside the United States, 68% below the state share (8.5% against 27.0%). The poverty rate is 22.7%, 89% above the state rate (22.7% against 12.0%).
The warmest month is Jul, averaging 83°F (28.4°C), and the coolest is Dec at 44°F (6.4°C). About 872 mm (34 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Dec is the wettest month (186 mm) and Jul the driest (2 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.
Closest cities in this guide: Redding (63 miles, rent 7% lower); Roseville (73 miles, rent 44% higher); Citrus Heights (79 miles, rent 23% higher); Carmichael (82 miles, rent 14% higher). Rent differences are against Chico; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.
Federal jobs in California (1,717) →State guide: CaliforniaCountry guideButte CountyCalifornia rankings
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
There are 1,717 federal postings open in California (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.
Open federal jobs in California →
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 5,940 | 2.74 | $34,320 | $34,320 | $38,100 | -4% |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 2,630 | 1.35 | $38,210 | $34,320 | $45,070 | +22% |
| Registered Nurses | 2,170 | 1.28 | $127,360 | $103,400 | $160,170 | +31% |
| Cashiers | 2,090 | 1.35 | $35,210 | $34,320 | $52,000 | +7% |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,010 | 1.02 | $36,680 | $34,320 | $48,190 | +4% |
| Office Clerks, General | 1,700 | 1.37 | $42,840 | $34,320 | $61,090 | -5% |
| General and Operations Managers | 1,260 | 0.71 | $98,390 | $52,370 | $207,230 | -7% |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | 1,220 | 1.71 | $45,660 | $36,440 | $55,680 | +24% |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 1,120 | 1.60 | $95,000 | $60,900 | $120,560 | +49% |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 1,040 | 0.73 | $37,180 | $34,500 | $49,180 | -0% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 990 | 0.87 | $34,320 | $34,320 | $47,560 | -3% |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 990 | 0.67 | $41,080 | $35,190 | $51,290 | +2% |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 900 | 0.81 | $39,150 | $34,320 | $57,290 | +6% |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 810 | 0.94 | $49,810 | $35,610 | $71,090 | +5% |
| Nursing Assistants | 790 | 1.09 | $46,380 | $38,860 | $56,620 | +10% |
| Medical Assistants | 770 | 1.87 | $47,150 | $39,050 | $58,450 | +3% |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 730 | 1.05 | $50,710 | $39,050 | $74,910 | +0% |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 720 | 0.94 | $52,040 | $37,340 | $80,440 | +5% |
| Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers | 710 | 1.48 | $45,150 | $35,910 | $62,440 | +15% |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 700 | 1.14 | $45,900 | $39,700 | $70,010 | +4% |
These figures are for the whole Chico, CA metropolitan area, not the city alone.
Median pay across all occupations: $48,050 (US $50,980); unemployment 5.9% (2026M09).
| Industry (residents) ⇅ | Share of employed residents ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Education and health care | 29.8% |
| Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food | 14.6% |
| Retail trade | 11.8% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative | 10.7% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 5.6% |
| Other services | 5.6% |
| Construction | 4.3% |
| Manufacturing | 4.1% |
| Public administration | 3.4% |
| Transportation, warehousing, utilities | 3.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 2.8% |
| Information | 2.1% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining | 1.9% |
Cities have no official GDP or payroll count of their own. These figures are for the county where Chico lies and cover the whole county, not only the city.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP (2024) ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs (QCEW 2024) ⇅ | Employer sites ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Job change vs 2023 ⇅ | Unemployment rate ⇅ | Labour force ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County | 207,929 | $12,901 million | $62,045 | 78,999 | 9,029 | $57,521 | +0.9% | 5.9% | 90,577 |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 19,255 | 31.4% | $57,496 | 1.70 |
| Retail trade | 9,123 | 14.9% | $41,784 | 1.16 |
| Accommodation and food services | 7,266 | 11.8% | $26,647 | 1.01 |
| Construction | 3,918 | 6.4% | $77,408 | 0.94 |
| Manufacturing | 3,734 | 6.1% | $65,524 | 0.58 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 3,571 | 5.8% | $41,113 | 1.50 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 2,774 | 4.5% | $56,868 | 4.34 |
| Administrative and waste services | 2,661 | 4.3% | $44,029 | 0.57 |
| Professional and technical services | 2,079 | 3.4% | $78,180 | 0.38 |
| Wholesale trade | 2,017 | 3.3% | $78,319 | 0.65 |
| Finance and insurance | 1,257 | 2.0% | $95,385 | 0.39 |
| Real estate and rental | 1,208 | 2.0% | $49,824 | 0.99 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 966 | 1.6% | $24,692 | 0.73 |
| Information | 564 | 0.9% | $72,032 | 0.38 |
| Educational services | 512 | 0.8% | $42,728 | 0.31 |
| Management of companies | 396 | 0.6% | $100,535 | 0.30 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 43 | 0.1% | $71,849 | 0.14 |
QCEW counts jobs covered by unemployment insurance; sectors with too few employers are withheld by BLS. Latest-month unemployment is preliminary.
| How residents get to work ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Drive alone | 68.6% |
| Public transit | 0.9% |
| Walk | 3.6% |
| Work from home | 13.5% |
| Commute of 45 minutes or more | 8.0% |
Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median household income | $66,977 |
| Income per person | $38,830 |
| Median gross rent per month | $1,488 |
| Yearly rent as share of median household income | 26.7% |
| Median home value | $468,100 |
| Homeowners | 43.4% |
| Poverty rate | 22.7% |
| Price level of the metro area (US = 100) | 101.2 |
| Metro median pay, all occupations | $48,050 |
Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set; graduated states show 0 until you enter your own estimate. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.
State tax: Graduated, top rate 13.30%.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median age | 31.1 |
| High school or higher (25+) | 93.5% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 42.2% |
| Born abroad | 8.5% |
| Labour force participation (16+) | 66.2% |
Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.
| Month ⇅ | Mean temperature (°C) ⇅ | Mean temperature (°F) ⇅ | Precipitation (mm) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.8 | 44 | 135 |
| Feb | 7.5 | 46 | 141 |
| Mar | 9.7 | 49 | 128 |
| Apr | 12.2 | 54 | 70 |
| May | 17.4 | 63 | 45 |
| Jun | 23.4 | 74 | 14 |
| Jul | 28.4 | 83 | 2 |
| Aug | 27.2 | 81 | 2 |
| Sep | 23.9 | 75 | 8 |
| Oct | 17.4 | 63 | 48 |
| Nov | 10.6 | 51 | 93 |
| Dec | 6.4 | 44 | 186 |
Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.
| City ⇅ | State ⇅ | Distance (straight line) ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redding | CA | 63 mi | 93,409 | $70,466 | $1,379 |
| Roseville | CA | 73 mi | 155,955 | $119,288 | $2,142 |
| Citrus Heights | CA | 79 mi | 86,995 | $82,314 | $1,827 |
| Carmichael | CA | 82 mi | 76,948 | $85,914 | $1,702 |
| Arden-Arcade | CA | 83 mi | 94,994 | $77,321 | $1,588 |
| Folsom | CA | 84 mi | 83,916 | $139,804 | $2,352 |
| Sacramento | CA | 84 mi | 528,706 | $87,321 | $1,779 |
| Rancho Cordova | CA | 87 mi | 81,849 | $89,585 | $1,787 |
| Elk Grove | CA | 96 mi | 179,155 | $125,924 | $2,262 |
| Vacaville | CA | 97 mi | 102,596 | $111,126 | $2,299 |
Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.
Pick two cities.
vs
102,188 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).
$1,488 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 26.7% of the median household income.
$66,977 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).
5.9% (BLS county, Butte County (latest month 2026M09)).
California. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.