How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Chico, CA
102,911 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 0613014 · Census profile · mayors: being verified · the council picks the mayor (22 of 20 years on record)
Overall in 2023, Chico ranked #164 of 340 cities and 9th of 14 in its peer group, on 6 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Chico and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Las Cruces NM, Provo UT, Pueblo CO, Waco TX, Columbia MO, Tuscaloosa AL, South Bend IN, Nampa ID, Fayetteville AR, Eugene OR, Beaumont TX, Athens GA, Tyler TX · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #164 of 340 cities · 9th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #178 | #127 | #163 | #145 | #125 | #67 | #263 | #115 | #62 | #80 | #134 | #199 | #56 | #125 | #163 | #210 | #252 | #27 | #164 | #106 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 82,651 | 83,775 | 84,347 | 85,265 | 85,870 | 86,783 | 87,269 | 87,915 | 88,362 | 89,491 | 90,369 | 91,564 | 93,066 | 94,342 | 103,301 | 103,289 | 100,615 | 102,061 | 102,146 | 102,911 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #54 of 340 cities · 5th of 14 in its peer group | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.1 | — | -0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.7 | -5.1 | -0.6 | -1.6 | +0.6 | +0.0 | +0.4 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #163 of 271 cities with data · 9th of 10 in its peer group with data | 7.3 | 6.3 | 4.4 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 8.0 | 4.8 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 2.1 | 2.2 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #261 of 340 cities · 12th of 14 in its peer group | 29.2% | 28.0% | 29.4% | 27.1% | 26.2% | 23.8% | 28.5% | 28.2% | 23.3% | 26.1% | 25.7% | 30.3% | 23.3% | 26.5% | 22.6% | — | 25.2% | 25.9% | 29.6% | 27.1% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #60 of 304 cities with data · 3rd of 14 in its peer group | 3.6 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.2 | — | 2.1 | 2.1 | — | 2.9 | — | 1.0 | 2.9 | 1.9 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #59 of 295 cities with data · 3rd of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20.4 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 39,376 | 39,640 | 38,840 | 39,828 | 38,879 | 38,537 | 39,034 | 38,884 | 40,696 | 41,423 | 43,123 | 45,191 | 45,884 | 46,806 | 46,936 | 43,022 | 41,690 | 44,393 | 45,172 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #99 of 329 cities with data · 3rd of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -1.8 | -0.8 | +1.1 | -1.3 | +1.0 | -0.8 | +0.8 | -0.0 | +0.3 | +1.3 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +4.7 | -2.4 | -0.7 | +2.2 | +0.9 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 38,870 | 38,582 | 44,543 | 43,626 | 42,864 | 43,340 | 46,851 | 49,245 | 51,807 | — | 49,249 | 53,755 | 54,707 | 53,594 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #296 of 340 cities · 10th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14.2% | 12.3% | 6.4% | 7.4% | 10.3% | 9.4% | 6.7% | 7.5% | 6.2% | — | 8.3% | 4.8% | 6.3% | 7.2% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #33 of 314 cities with data · 2nd of 14 in its peer group | — | — | 39% | — | — | — | — | 32% | — | — | — | — | 33% | — | — | — | — | 23% | — | 40% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #11 of 314 cities with data · 1st of 14 in its peer group | — | — | $2,698 | — | — | — | — | $2,536 | — | — | — | — | $1,765 | — | — | — | — | $265 | — | $182 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Chico. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.