Sacramento Valley City Guide · Butte County

Oroville, California

The Butte County seat on the Feather River, below Lake Oroville and the tallest dam in the United States

Entrance area of the Oroville Chinese Temple (1863), California Historical Landmark No. 770. Image: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0

By Aaron Rose, Realtor®, eXp Realty of California · Last updated October 18, 2026

Where is Oroville, California?

Oroville is the county seat of Butte County. It sits where the Feather River leaves the Sierra foothills for the Sacramento Valley, about 22 miles (straight-line) southeast of Chico and 63 miles north of downtown Sacramento, at roughly 180 feet elevation. The 2020 Census counted 20,042 residents and 7,705 housing units on 13.8 square miles of land, up from 15,546 in 2010. Just upstream, Oroville Dam holds back Lake Oroville.

Much of greater Oroville lies outside city limits. The unincorporated Thermalito (7,198), Oroville East (8,038), Palermo (5,555) and South Oroville (3,235) CDPs together had more residents in 2020 than the city itself.

County and ZIP: The city lies entirely in Butte County. It's split between ZIP 95965 (21,548 residents across the whole ZIP area) and 95966 (31,591). 95965 is entirely in Butte County. 95966 is about 97% Butte by land, with a sliver in Yuba County. Both reach far beyond the city, so check city limits for any address.

What is the history of Oroville?

Per the Butte County Historical Society, gold was found in 1849 at a camp first called Ophir. When the town applied for a post office in 1854, it took the name Oroville because several other California places already used a version of Ophir. Voters moved the county seat from Bidwell Bar to Oroville in 1856. By the end of 1858 Oroville had nearly 4,000 people and was the state's fifth-largest town, per the society. A CSU Chico county history says the first town government asked the Legislature to disincorporate it in 1859 because of its tax burden. The present city was incorporated in 1906 (January 3, per the Library of Congress name record).

Chinese miners and merchants made Oroville one of the largest Chinese communities in the north state. The state landmark plaque says the Chinese Temple (1500 Broderick St.) was dedicated in the spring of 1863 to serve 10,000 Chinese then living here, and that Chinese residents deeded it to the city in 1935. It is California Historical Landmark No. 770 and on the National Register (#76000478).

On August 29, 1911, a Yahi man later known as Ishi was found by butchers at a corral in Oroville. The site is California Historical Landmark No. 809. Anthropologists from UC Berkeley took him to San Francisco, where he helped them document Yahi culture, per the Office of Historic Preservation.

What are Oroville's main neighborhoods?

Historic downtown: The old commercial core includes Montgomery and Myers Streets. Its anchor is the State Theatre (1489 Myers St.), designed by Timothy Pflueger and opened April 7, 1928. The city bought it in 1983, and a nonprofit guild now runs it as a performing arts center.

Olive Highway corridor: State Route 162 (Olive Highway) runs east from downtown toward the dam and Kelly Ridge. Oroville Hospital (2767 Olive Hwy.) is inside city limits along this corridor.

Thermalito and the west side: West of the Feather River, the city borders the unincorporated Thermalito area. Parts of the city here fall in the Thermalito Union School District (see Schools).

Unincorporated surroundings: Oroville East, Kelly Ridge and Palermo add hillside, lake-view and rural properties with Oroville mailing addresses.

Lake Oroville & the Feather River

Per the California Department of Water Resources, Oroville Dam is the tallest dam in the United States at 770 feet. DWR's facts handout says it is 43.6 feet taller than Hoover Dam. Lake Oroville is the largest reservoir in the State Water Project and the second-largest in California, holding about 3.54 million acre-feet, with 167 miles of shoreline when full. The embankment was topped out in 1967.

In February 2017, damage to the dam's spillways led to an evacuation order for Oroville and downstream communities. Cal OES estimates about 188,000 people evacuated. Two days later it was reduced to an evacuation watch, and Cal OES says the main spillway was fully reconstructed in 2018.

Inside the city, the Feather River Fish Hatchery (5 Table Mountain Blvd.) raises Chinook salmon and steelhead. CDFW says its underwater viewing window shows migrating fish from about mid-September through June, and the Oroville Salmon Festival is held on the fourth Saturday of September. DWR's Lake Oroville Visitor Center is on Kelly Ridge, east of the city.

What schools serve Oroville?

Oroville's school map is split. Under Census/NCES EDGE boundaries, most points we sampled inside the city fall in Oroville City Elementary School District. A large share on the west side falls in Thermalito Union School District, and one southern point falls in Palermo Union. All of those feed Oroville Union High School District. One far-western point near the municipal airport falls in Biggs Unified. NCES lists schools inside city limits such as Oroville High (1535 Bridge St.), Ishi Hills Middle, Stanford Avenue Elementary, Nelson Avenue Middle and Plumas Avenue Elementary. Butte College's main campus (3536 Butte Campus Dr.) has an Oroville address but lies outside the city, in the Butte Valley CDP. District lines don't follow ZIP codes or community names, so buyers should confirm the district and school assignment for a specific address with the Butte County Office of Education or the district office.

How local schools rate in RPR (school ratings in Realtors Property Resource for the City of Oroville, pulled October 18, 2026):

• Stream Charter School (Elementary, Middle): B+
• Oroville High School (High): B-
• Plumas Avenue Elementary School (Elementary): C+
• The Studios @ Central Middle School (Middle): C
• Nelson Avenue Middle School (Middle): C
• Ishi Hills Middle School (Middle): C
• Ipakanni Early College Charter School (Elementary, Middle, High): C

Ratings are third-party summaries, and district lines don't follow ZIP codes or community names, so confirm the school assignment for a specific address with the district office.

How far is Oroville from Sacramento?

Oroville is about 63 miles (straight-line) north of downtown Sacramento and about 22 miles southeast of Chico; State Route 70 runs south toward Marysville and Sacramento.

State Route 70 runs south toward Marysville (about 24 miles straight-line) and Sacramento (about 63 miles). Route 162 heads east toward the lake and west across the valley. Chico is about 22 miles away. Drive times vary by address, so ask Aaron for a route check from a specific property.

Census estimates for the City of Oroville reported by RPR put the average travel time to work at about 20 minutes.

What are homes like in Oroville?

Inside the city, expect older homes near downtown and the river, mid-century neighborhoods, and newer subdivisions on the edges. Rural, lake-view and acreage properties are mostly in the unincorporated areas around the city. Flood-zone status, wildfire risk and insurance are standard due-diligence items here.

Home prices right now

The median sold price for a single-family home in Oroville was $299,000 in September 2026. Homes sold at 99.2% of list price after a median of 27 days (17 closed sales).

RPR showed 182 active listings (median list price $350,000, or $229 per square foot), 56 new listings and 40 pending sales in September 2026. That works out to 5.52 months of inventory, which RPR classifies as a balanced market. RPR's median estimated home value is $337,080, up 1.7% over 12 months.

Small markets have few sales each month, so medians can swing; ask Aaron for numbers on a specific area or price range.

Who lives here: Census estimates for the City of Oroville reported by RPR put the population at about 20,000, the median age at 36, median household income at $52,270 and owner-occupied homes at 53% (U.S. Census via RPR, pulled October 18, 2026).

Geography: City of Oroville, single-family, Sept 2026 (RPR). Source: listings and public records via RPR (Realtors Property Resource); pulled October 18, 2026.

How does Oroville compare with nearby towns?

Single-family homes, September 2026. Source: listings via RPR (Realtors Property Resource), pulled October 18, 2026. Where a town had too few sales of its own, its row uses the ZIP code or county shown under its name. "Too few sales" means RPR reported no figure, or the town had under 5 sales, too few for a meaningful median. Towns with few sales can swing month to month.

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