Forest Ranch is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in
Butte County, California
Butte County () is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville.
Butte County comprises the Chico, California, metropolitan stat ...
. It includes Forest Ranch Charter School (K-8), its own post office, and a
CDF and Volunteer fire stations. The community's ZIP code is 95942, and is shared with the community of
Butte Meadows. The area code is
530. Forest Ranch's population was 1,184 at the 2010 census.
In late July 2024, the community was affected by the
Park Fire
The Park Fire was an extremely large wildfire in Northern California's Butte and Tehama counties. It ignited on July 24, 2024 in an alleged act of arson in the city of Chico's Bidwell Park in Butte County. Defying initial fire suppression ef ...
. Several structures were destroyed, but the majority of the community was left standing.
The US Geological Survey reports the town's elevation as above mean sea level. The eastern end of the community is about : about higher. This is high enough that residents occasionally get "snowed in." Residents east of the center of the community report the snowfall is heavy enough to prevent driving about one to three days each year. This is only true of homes not located along
State Route 32. Some residents commute to work in
Chico, about fifteen driving miles west on SR32.
History
Forest Ranch post office was opened in 1878, closed in 1926, and re-established in 1932, and moved several times in 1938 to its present location.
The town once was the site of a lumber mill, established around 1873 and operated by Elias Findley. In the mid-1870s, Findley's residence was taken over by a Mr. and Mrs. Weld, who provided accommodations for teams and travelers on the
Humboldt Wagon Road
The Humboldt Wagon Road, or the Humboldt Road, was a freight wagon road in northern California. Constructed in the 1860s, it connected Chico, California, Chico, near the Sacramento River, with Susanville, California, Susanville, near Honey Lake ...
.
In the 1890s, Forest Ranch had an active literary society and its school hosted regular performances and athletic events for the general community. The town is now mostly a bedroom community for nearby
Chico.
Demographics
Forest Ranch first appeared as a
census designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in the
2010 U.S. Census.
[
The 2020 United States census reported that Forest Ranch had a population of 1,304. The population density was . The racial makeup of Forest Ranch was 1,085 (83.2%) ]White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 12 (0.9%) African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 12 (0.9%) Native American, 16 (1.2%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 33 (2.5%) from other races, and 145 (11.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 108 persons (8.3%).cohabiting
Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...
couple households, 75 (13.5%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 131 (23.6%) had a male householder with no partner present. 150 households (27.0%) were one person, and 83 (15.0%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35.[ There were 367 ]families
Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(66.1% of all households).[
There were 601 housing units at an average density of , of which 555 (92.3%) were occupied. Of these, 499 (89.9%) were owner-occupied, and 56 (10.1%) were occupied by renters.][
]
Education
It is in the Chico Unified School District
Chico Unified School District (CUSD) is a public school district in Butte County, California, serving the city of Chico and the surrounding unincorporated communities.
The current superintendent is Kelly Staley, who will be retiring.
High ...
.[ ]
Text list
/ref>
References
* US Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database
* Map: ''Cohasset, California, 7.5 minute quadrangle'', 1995, US Geological Survey.
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Butte County, California
Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Census-designated places in California