American Graffiti used Modesto as its setting, and the Central Valley city of about 220,000 is still tied to it in popular memory. You can still cruise 10th and 11th Streets. Downtown has the Gallo Center for the Arts, the McHenry Mansion and the big arch over the street, and Tuolumne River Regional Park gives you trails and green space.
Its location is a big part of the pull. San Francisco, Sacramento and Yosemite are all roughly 90 miles away. Costs are moderate for California, closer to the national average, and housing is far cheaper than in the Bay Area. The tradeoffs are summer heat above 100F, smoky air during wildfire season, winter fog, and a crime picture worse than average, mostly vehicle break-ins and property crime. Parts of West Modesto and the Highway 99 corridor deserve extra care at night, and so do the motel strips along 99.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- City of Great Neighbors; Water Wealth Contentment Health (motto); birthplace of American Graffiti setting
- Languages
- English; Spanish widely spoken; Punjabi, Portuguese, Hmong and Filipino languages also present
- Airports
- No commercial service at Modesto City-County Airport (MOD, ended 2014); nearest major airports: Sacramento (SMF) about 90 miles, San Jose (SJC) about 80 miles, Oakland (OAK) about 85 miles, Fresno (FAT) about 95 miles; Stockton (SCK) about 30 miles has limited service
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20% for table service; bars $1-2 per drink; counter service optional or 10%; taxis and rideshare 15%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; wine tasting hosts 15-20% of purchase
About this data
Population city and metro from Census Bureau Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025; metro is Modesto MSA, standalone). Area from Wikipedia (total; land 43.05 sq mi). Elevation from Wikipedia (89 ft). Unverified: tipping norms, hotel rates, cost of living, rent, home price and crime rate are approximate from general knowledge (fetch tool was rate-limited); WestFest month, current baseball team naming and Stockton service unverified; visitor website and events calendar verified loading. Data date mid 2026
