City safety & data profile

ParadiseCA

Paradise, CA is a 26K-resident city in Butte County with a median household income of $67,687.

Butte County, California. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Paradise, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Paradise has a population larger than 58% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $416,000, and 2 hospitals serving the surrounding area.

Data updated 2026-09-16
26K
Population (place)
Top 42%
By size
$67,687
Median income (place)
$416,000
Median home (place)
18.2%
Poverty rate (place)
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The read on Paradise

Paradise posts a median household income higher than 34% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 2 hospitals serve the Paradise area.

Bottom 35%
by median income, US cities
2
hospitals in & near Paradise

Composite score · Paradise, CA

30/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2024

A transparent index Areazine derives from Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published, not an official Census Bureau or FBI rating. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move to or avoid any place. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Bachelor's+ share D
31.9%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Household income F
$67,687

Median household income vs cities tracked on Areazine; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Poverty rate F
18.2%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis. ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Violent crime F
442 /100k

FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents. State-level rate (per-city UCR reporting is incomplete/voluntary): every city in the state shares this value; lower is stronger on this axis.

See the full national tables: Healthiest Cities in America (health outcomes only) · Community Wellbeing Cities (this page's blended composite).

Where Paradise income ranks nationally

Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)

$67,687 Bottom 34% higher than 34% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles

Paradise $0 $260,000 every profiled place, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $20,000-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year

Biggest cities by headcount in CA

482 CA places (10,000+ residents, ACS income on record), sorted by population. Hover a bar for its income rank in this pool.

residents

What this shows Los Angeles tops this pool by population; the income lead belongs to Alamo instead.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

CA cities ranked by median household income

Median household income among the same 482-city pool. Tooltip shows the population rank.

median

What this shows Income honors go to Alamo here -- by headcount, that title belongs to Los Angeles.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

The quick read

Reading Paradise, CA beyond the headline numbers

Paradise sits inside Butte County, California, at roughly 39.76°N, -121.62°W. Population 26,476, $67,687 median household income. Median home value $416,000, median rent $1,241. Poverty rate 18.2%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.

2 hospitals in/around Paradise (nearest 11.8 mi away), 2/5 avg rating, 2 with an ER. Climate: 61.5°F annual average, 56.5" precipitation.

At 57.4 years, Paradise's median age is in the oldest quarter of reporting cities.

Among the CDC measures on this page, coronary heart disease departs furthest from its peer median: 9.6% in Paradise, the highest-prevalence quarter of the 3,757 cities reporting that measure.

The median home in Paradise costs around 6.1 times what a median household earns in a year -- the most expensive quarter of reporting cities, and far enough ahead of local pay that ownership is largely closed to median earners.

18.2% of Paradise, CA residents live below the poverty line, placing it in the hardest-hit quarter of reporting cities. Read every median on this page against that: half the households are above it, and a large minority are far below.

18.6% of Paradise workers are remote, above the midpoint of reporting cities.

Median rent in Paradise, CA runs $1,241/month, below the midpoint for reporting cities.

31.9% of Paradise adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, below the midpoint of reporting cities.

Unemployment in Paradise sits at 4.9%, above the midpoint of reporting cities.

Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Paradise from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Economic comparison bars use the unweighted average across tracked Census places with a reported value, not a household-weighted national median.

A Decade of Change 2013–2024

County-level trend (Butte County): Paradise's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.

20132024
Population
208K-6%
Median Income
$67,928+55%
Median Home Value
$424,700+88%
Poverty Rate
19.2%-6%
Unemployment
7.4%-48%

Economic Snapshot

What stands out most about Paradise's economic profile: poverty rate at 18.2%, 47% above the average across tracked places. Median household income runs 24% below average too, at $67,687.

Economics indicators for Paradise, CA
IndicatorValue
Median Rent
$1,241/mo
Poverty Rate
18.2% +47% vs avg
Unemployment 4.9%
Bachelor's Degree+ 31.9%
Work From Home 18.6%
Public Transit 0.7%

Headcount

White 81.8%
African American 0.8%
Asian 1.4%
Two or More Ethnicities 6.2%

Health at a Glance 15 measures

Health Indicators

High Blood Pressure
41.7%
Short Sleep Duration
31.6%
Obesity
30.6%
Physical Inactivity
24%
Frequent Mental Distress
16.7%
Frequent Physical Distress
16.4%
Binge Drinking
14.9%
Diabetes
14.1%
Current Smoking
14%
Current Asthma
10.7%

Preventive Care

Dental Visit 62.5%
Annual Checkup 77.8%

Other Measures

Coronary Heart Disease
9.6%
Lack of Health Insurance
6%
Stroke
5%

Nearest Hospitals 2 within 25 mi

CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating (1-5): a composite score across dozens of reported measures, not a single outcome guarantee for any patient. It isn't adjusted for patient case mix and isn't directly comparable across hospital types, a critical-access facility and a large teaching hospital aren't rated on the same measure set.

Rating Distribution
★★★★★
0
★★★★
0
★★★
1
★★
0
★
1
Average Rating
2/5
Total Hospitals
2
With ER
2
ENLOE HEALTH
CHICO · 11.8 mi away · Acute Care Hospitals · ER
★★★☆☆
OROVILLE HOSPITAL
OROVILLE · 22.5 mi away · Acute Care Hospitals · ER
★☆☆☆☆

Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 Normals
Avg Temperature
62°F
Annual Rainfall
56.5"
Hot Months (>80°F)
4
Cold Months (<40°F)
0
54°
41°
Jan
10.2"
56°
42°
Feb
10.1"
61°
45°
Mar
8.3"
66°
48°
Apr
4.6"
75°
54°
May
2.4"
84°
61°
Jun
0.8"
91°
67°
Jul
0.0"
90°
66°
Aug
0.2"
86°
62°
Sep
0.4"
74°
54°
Oct
2.8"
61°
45°
Nov
5.5"
54°
40°
Dec
11.2"

Cost of Living

BEA 2024
101.2 Regional Price Parity

1.2% above national average

US avg
101.2

Metro area: Chico, CA (MSA)

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities via FRED. RPP of 100 = national average.

NFIP Flood Claim History

FEMA NFIP, county-level
71
Claims filed
$2.6M
Total paid out
A
Most common flood zone

71 flood insurance claims have been filed in Butte County since 2016, with $2.6M paid out by the NFIP.

No single named event dominates this county's claim history: most are individual, unnamed flood losses.

Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims, via OpenFEMA. County-level data: individual claims are not attributed to a specific city or address by FEMA.

What alerts and safety updates affect Paradise?

No area-tagged alerts are on record for Paradise right now. New federal and counterpart-agency notices still land in the site feed as agencies publish them.

City alert dispatch desk

Sheet CA-PARADISE-CA · Paradise

Paradise: 2 tagged alerts; lead category NWS weather alert.

  • VOL-TRACE 2 on record
  • WX-LED 100% weather
  • DESK-MIX NOAA
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ San Jose

Tagged alert mix: Paradise

Published notices carrying this city slug or location tag

Value

What this shows 2 tagged notices on record for Paradise.

Source Areazine publication corpus As of Live tagged feed

Nearest tagged-volume peer: San Jose, CA (2 tagged · Δ0)

Counts reflect published articles tagged to Paradise; untagged NOAA county warnings may still appear in the site feed. Browse California state hubs · Methodology

Similar alert activity elsewhere 4

Nearest published-notice counts on Areazine (2 tagged here), a feed-density peer set, not an ACS demographic match.

San Jose, CA 2 alerts Fresno, CA 2 alerts Pittsburgh, PA 2 alerts York, PA 2 alerts

More on this area

Understanding Weather Alerts

Watch vs warning vs advisory, how NOAA labels map to action
All safety guides →

Questions & Answers 9

What is the population of Paradise, CA? ▼
Paradise, CA has a population of 26,476 people, located in Butte County, California.
What is the median household income in Paradise? ▼
The median household income in Paradise, CA is $67,687 per year, per the U.S. Census ACS. The poverty rate is 18.2%.
What is the median home value in Paradise? ▼
The median home value in Paradise, CA is $416,000. Median rent is $1,241/month.
What are the top health concerns in Paradise? ▼
The top health indicators in Paradise include High Blood Pressure (41.7%), Short Sleep Duration (31.6%), Obesity (30.6%). Data from CDC PLACES.
What hospitals are near Paradise? ▼
The nearest hospitals to Paradise, CA are ENLOE HEALTH (11.8 mi, in CHICO), OROVILLE HOSPITAL (22.5 mi, in OROVILLE). 2 have emergency departments.
What is the median age in Paradise? ▼
The median age in Paradise, CA is 57.4 years. 31.9% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What is the climate like in Paradise? ▼
Paradise has an average annual temperature of 61.5°F and 56.5" of annual precipitation.
What is the cost of living in Paradise? ▼
The regional price parity for Paradise is 101.197, meaning prices are 1.2% above the national average.
Has Paradise had flood insurance claims? ▼
Butte County, California has recorded 71 NFIP flood insurance claims since 2016, totaling $2.6M in payouts. This is county-level data: FEMA does not attribute individual claims to a specific city.

Cities nationwide with a comparable poverty or income figure 8

Two ACS-derived peer sets for Paradise, both outside California so the neighborhoods are not the geographic nearby list below.

Similar poverty rate

Nearest place-level ACS poverty rates outside CA (18.2% here).

Richmond, VA 18.2% Racine, WI 18.2% Baytown, TX 18.2% Flagstaff, AZ 18.2%

Similar median income

Nearest place-level ACS median household incomes outside CA ($67,687 here).

Moline, IL $67,701 Norman, OK $67,704 Lexington, NE $67,666 Payson, AZ $67,710

Compare Paradise with another city

Pick a second U.S. city to open a side-by-side profile on population, income, health, and hospitals, the same federal datasets as this page.

Quick picks:

Nearby Cities 8

Magalia, CA 11K Chico, CA 121K Oroville, CA 16K Marysville, CA 12K Yuba City, CA 67K Linda, CA 18K South Yuba City, CA 15K Olivehurst, CA 14K
All cities in California → Compare Paradise vs Magalia → All comparisons → Browse all cities

Next steps for Paradise

Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.

  • Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Paradise area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
  • A median income figure alone can mislead, cross-check it against the poverty rate for the fuller picture.
  • Compare Paradise against California peers on any ranking lens. Explore California

Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city. County-level trends are labeled when shown.

Data Sources

All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Butte County) where that is the smallest published unit.

Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census (place-level ACS), CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. County-level trends are labeled when shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-09-16.