The Washington Post ran an article on August 17th, 2015 citing a USDA study of all 3,111 counties in the contiguous United States ranking them in scenic beauty and climate. The purpose of this study was to predict the movement of rural populations across the nation based on desirability of location. Calaveras County ranked 14th and we’re delighted to boast that we came in 9 counties ahead of Napa (which was 23rd), and just above Mariposa, home of Yosemite. The Washington Post article spurred some news coverage by our local ABC affiliate, News10 Sacramento. See the coverage here: http://www.news10.net/story/news/2015/08/20/calaveras-county-murphys/32086671/.
The USDA, in its report defines their data set as “natural aspects of attractiveness” and hasn’t updated the study since 1999 because these aspects are unlikely to change significantly over time, if at all. This puts Calaveras County in the top 0.45% of desirable counties to live and play in… something we’re happy to agree with. Click on the links above to go to the article, where you can mouse over your own county on the interactive map and see how it compares to Calaveras.
And meanwhile, here are some beautiful Calaveras scenic shots to give you an idea of why we’re so highly regarded.
This is just a taste of the beauty to be found here in Calaveras County.