Living in Atwater, CA
Small city in California
Atwater is a small city in California, home to about 32,000 people, with 675,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, most trips are by car. Life moves at a moderate pace, and homes are a mix of apartments and houses.
Is Atwater a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Sunny: more sunshine and clearer skies than most places
- Low natural disaster risk: 6 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Easy flying: FAT is 63 mi away
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $393k and rents for $2,070 a month
👎 Cons
- Fewer graduates: 13% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Smaller job market: about 675,000 people live within 31 mi
- Weaker public schools: test results below the US average
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Atwater ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Atwater: common questions
What is the cost of living in Atwater?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $393k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $2,070 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are close to the US average (index 98, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Atwater?
California collects about $3,279 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.65% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Atwater safe?
Violent crime is well above the national rate (1.8× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Atwater?
Public schools in Atwater test below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 23 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Atwater?
Atwater has mild winters: winter days average around 57°F and summer days around 93°F.
Does Atwater get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding and earthquakes: 6 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.29 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Atwater?
The nearest major airport is FAT, about 63 mi away.
How Atwater scores
Each bar compares Atwater with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Atwater
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in California.
Is Atwater right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.