Considering Davis

69,413

Population

Sunny Days: 267

90100 Affordability

100100 Schools

90100 Diversity

90100 Safety

See all the facts!

LookyLOO Review of Davis?

Suburban-ish

Davis is sometimes described as a “suburb of Sacramento, " but that description doesn't do it justice.

Davis also has the spunk of a college town, with UC Davis bringing in more energy than a typical suburb. Davis has great public schools, California weather, and plenty of parks, making it a great place to raise a family. Notably, it has been the bicycle champion of the U.S. with the highest ridership of any city in the union.

Finally, in addition to Sacramento, the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, and the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe, Mt. Tam, and Pt. Reyes National Seashore, are all accessible within a two-hour drive. So you've got that going for you too.

Davis is great for families and it is great for college students. Davis can be tricky for those in between. There isn’t that much going on in terms of nightlife if you’re not a student, although there is a concerted effort from city officials to improve the social scene. It’s also property in a nice part of California, so housing prices almost immediately price a lot of young people out of Davis, to begin with. To summarize, single people in their mid-twenties have very different experiences in Davis than families and college students.

Lifestyle

The area around UC Davis, and to the north of campus in particular, is, unsurprisingly, a lot of apartment buildings that are mostly filled with students. South Davis is known for its single-family homes, bike paths, and its proximity to the country club. Central Davis centers around the main stretch and has several different older home styles, all within walking distance of downtown. North Davis is where a lot of families live and there are several different single-family housing styles and options.

If you want to see what's happening in Davis during the year check out the downtown calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Davis and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can also receive discounted travel fares via our partnership with Expedia.

Why You Should Move Here Now?

Great for the Whole Family

If you’re at a crossroads and looking to start, or expand, your family on the west coast, then Davis is a great place to have on you list. It’s mostly suburban with a lot of family friendly positives both in the city and within a short drive. Davis is a home run if it’s in your price range.

Reviews of Davis from Locals

jmtb02
3mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

I lived in Orange County for seven years, also grew up around where you lived. Here's some of my thoughts:

Car culture exists here, but way less than Southern California. If you lived in OC you're used to driving to everything. Here you can use a bike/scooter/etc to get around fairly easily, and Davis has some of the best bike infrastructure in the US. You'll probably want a car if you want to get out of Davis or have hobbies/family/etc to visit elsewhere. Traffic is predictable, I-80 is the artery of our area and gets busy during rush hour
Restaurant/bars close earlier, but there is a pretty good selection of food options for a city our size. You might be missing certain genres and favorites moving here (OC has a pretty kickass food scene) but Sacramento is not far, or the Bay Area at large for that matter depending on what you're looking for
Davisites are kind as fuck. It is a much less free-for-all energy than I was used to in OC. People care about each other differently here, not to say OC people don't but everyone seems just genuinely nice here. It's a community for sure.
Sacramento is nearby. If you need city energy it's there, they have shows/sports teams/nightlife that Davis has less of.
It gets cold here, like 30-40F. You need warmer clothes in the winter months.
It gets hot here, like 100F+ often. Southern California gets hot but not this hot.
It's a whole different vibe. I love it here, I miss so many things in OC (restaurants, beach access, Disneyland) but you're a one hour flight away (also SMF is awesome, easy to get to) if you ever need to go back.

For more reviews of what living in Davis is like from locals, check out The Reviews