Chico, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Chico census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95928. It stands on Dead Horse Slough. The Survey maps it on the Chico quadrangle. 101,475 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 197 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1891 to 1980The same ground, surveyed 89 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Chico
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 11 records
Allen-Sommer-Gage Houselisted 1977
Bidwell Mansionlisted 1972
A. H. Chapman Houselisted 1982
Honey Run Covered Bridgelisted 1988
Patrick Ranch Houselisted 1972
Silberstein Park Buildinglisted 1983
South of Campus Neighborhoodlisted 1991
Southern Pacific Depotlisted 1987
St. John's Episcopal Churchlisted 1982
Stansbury Houselisted 1975
US Post Office-Chico Midtown Stationlisted 1985
Population over time
2 figuresChico grew from 86,187 to 101,475 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 86,187 | |
| 2020 | 101,475 | +15,288 (+18%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 28 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1891 USGS Chico quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Chico quadrangle1:125000
- 1895 USGS Chico quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1912 USGS Durham quadrangle1:31680
- 1948 USGS Chico quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1949 USGS Chico quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1950 USGS Chico quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Chico quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
554 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 554 fires within 5 miles of Chico between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,174 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 33 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 212 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 157 |
| Debris and open burning | 86 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 33 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 26 |
| Smoking | 22 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Natural | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Butte Unit | 32 |
| 9 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Butte Unit | SKYWAY |
| 9 September 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Butte Unit | HEGAN |
| 8 September 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Butte Unit | W EAST AVE WEST_CHICO |
| 8 September 2011 | Smoking | under an acre | Butte Unit | SOUTH |
| 8 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Butte Unit | SACRAMENTO |
| 8 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Butte Unit | MIDWAY1 |
| 8 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Butte Unit | MIDWAY2 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Chico: 4 producers, 3 unknowns, 1 past producer. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Platinum, PGE. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butte Creek | Gold, Platinum | Producer | 1848, 1949 | |
| Butte Creek | Gold, PGE | Unknown | ||
| Chico Pit and Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Butte Creek Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Chico Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| L L Ultican | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Butte Creek District | Gold | Past Producer | 1849 | |
| Unnamed Location | Gold | Unknown |
Storms near this place
13 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chico in 13 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 3 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2000 | Wildfire | Chico | $1,900,000 | no account filed |
| November 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chico | $1,000,000 | A collapsing thunderstorm resulted in a downburst which brought strong straight line winds which snapped 6 power poles along east Eaton Rd. and Godman Ave in Chico. There were 10000 PG&E customers without power. |
| April 2017 | Lightning | Chico | $45,000 | Lightning struck a very large oak tree near Bidwell Mansion in Chico. Large tree limbs came down, damaging 9 cars. Report time based on radar. |
| April 2019 | Flood | Chico | $5,000 | Two feet of standing water was observed on Pillsbury Road between Cohasset Rd. and East Ave. Much of Cohasset Road from Highway 99 to Chico Airport was underwater as well. Time was estimated. |
| January 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chico | $1,000 | California Highway Patrol reported a large pine tree down across both lanes of SR 99 just north of East 1st Ave. |
| April 1993 | Tornado (F0) | Chico | $500 | A tornado touched down in the center of Chico near Fourth Street and Chico State University. The brief touchdown resulted in damage to a number of trees, and was observed by local authorities. |
| March 2023 | Hail | Chico | - | There was 0.75 inch hail reported in Chico, reported via Facebook. |
| April 2019 | Flash Flood | Chico | - | Flooding was reported across all 3 lanes southbound on Highway 99. |
| January 2017 | Flood | Chico | - | Big Chico Creek overran its banks in Bidwell Park. |
| October 2016 | Hail | Chico | - | Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported. |
| April 2015 | Heavy Rain | Chico | - | The 24 hour total rain was 0.86 inches. |
| February 2001 | Hail | Chico | - | no account filed |
| January 1997 | Flash Flood | Chico | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michopdo (historical) | 0.9 miles | 28 | |
| Barber | 1.0 miles | 28 | |
| Chapmantown | 1.2 miles | 28 | |
| Stirling Junction | 1.6 miles | 28 | |
| Roble | 4.7 miles | 28 | |
| Dayton | 5.8 miles | 28 | |
| Durham | 6.0 miles | 28 | |
| Eskini (historical) | 6.1 miles | 28 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Chico | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q432152 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1655890. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.









