City
Chico
Chico is an incorporated city in Butte County with an estimated 2025 population of 105,081. It handles many rules and services inside its limits. The county still handles property records, taxes, courts, elections, public health, and many household programs.
Starting point
Confirm the address is inside local limits first.
If the address is inside Chico, city or town offices may handle local permits, code, and services. If it is outside limits, county routing may be the better first stop.
What changes the answer: A mailing city is not always the same as city government jurisdiction.
How local government works here
The city line changes some rules, but not every public office.
The mailing address can say Chico even when the property sits outside local limits. Check the city line before relying on a local rule or permit page.
City limits choose the local counter
Inside Chico, the city usually handles permits, zoning, parking, business licenses, and local code. Outside the city line, start with county planning or building.
The county still handles county work
Butte County handles property value and tax bills. It also handles deeds, court, elections, health, and many aid programs. Living inside Chico does not move those jobs to the city.
A provider can have its own boundary
Water, sewer, fire, schools, transit, trash, and power may belong to a special district or other provider. Use the address, parcel, or service bill to find the right agency.
Place answer
Chico building permits use online plans and eTRAKiT
Chico's Building Division points people to online plan submittal and eTRAKiT for permit work, with a separate lane for encroachment work in the public right-of-way.
Read the full explanation2025 population
105,081
Land area
34.559 sq mi
Water area
0.151 sq mi
Local front desk
Start with the task in front of you.
Chico is incorporated. Start with the city for work inside its limits, while Butte County still handles property records, taxes, courts, elections, many benefits, and county alerts. Butte County is the public-health layer.
- Property Open the property-tax path
Assessed value, exemptions, tax bills, and appeals
Butte County assessor handles value and exemptions. The clerk of the board handles a formal value appeal. The tax collector handles the bill, payment, and penalties.
- Records Open the records path
Deeds, birth and death records, marriage records, and name changes
Butte County recorder is the usual deed and public-record door. Vital-record access depends on the record and year. A legal name change or divorce decree can involve Superior Court.
- Property work Open official city planning
Building permits, ADUs, zoning, code, water, and septic
Start with the city planning or building office for an address inside Chico. Start with the county for an address outside local limits.
Browse planning and building offices - Housing Open the housing path
Rent rules, repairs, notices, and eviction papers
Start with a local rent, housing, or code office if one serves the address. Court papers go to the Superior Court self-help path, and the deadline on the papers keeps running.
- Household help Open the benefits path
CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, General Assistance, and IHSS
Butte County social-services agency is the main local door. Coverage, food, cash aid, and in-home support remain separate programs with separate notices.
- Public health Open the health path
Vaccines, disease reporting, health records, and local health programs
Butte County public health is the local health jurisdiction. Health coverage and benefits still use separate program doors.
- Business Open official business licensing
Business setup, seller's permits, local licenses, and regulated work
State filings and tax accounts do not replace Chico zoning, licensing, building, fire, or health approvals for the address.
Browse business licensing offices - Neighborhood services Open the local-office path
Potholes, streetlights, graffiti, trash, and service requests
For a city-owned street or service inside Chico, start with the local request system. County roads, Caltrans routes, utilities, private property, and separate service providers use different doors.
- School and care Open the school and care path
School enrollment, student records, and child-care checks
The school district handles assignment and records. County offices can help with some family services, while the state licenses child-care facilities.
- Parking Open the parking path
Residential, guest, overnight, and local parking permits
A local parking permit is separate from a citation, moving ticket, and toll notice. Match the permit to the address, vehicle, district, or parking facility.
- Tickets Open the ticket path
Traffic court, parking citations, and toll notices
Butte County Superior Court handles traffic court matters. A city or issuing agency handles parking. The toll operator handles toll notices.
- Safety Open the emergency path
Emergency alerts, evacuations, smoke, roads, and power
Use the county or city alert system for local warnings. Follow the local emergency office for evacuation wording, then use the state fire, smoke, road, and utility sources for the matching layer.
Official city doors
Start local when the address is inside Chico.
The official website is always here. Direct service links appear only when the California Porch source trail supports them; an unlisted service has not been guessed.
County handoff
Keep the county layer close.
Chico does not replace the county for records, property taxes, courts, elections, benefits, public health, or county alerts. The official doors stay together below.
Butte County
Practical notes
Office, map, permit, and paperwork notes for Chico
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 3, 2026
Chico sewer billing is separate from the Cal Water bill
Chico sewer customers may receive a separate city sewer bill through Util360, while water account changes still begin with Cal Water.
Place answer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 4, 2026
Chico business licenses can touch home or downtown rules
Chico businesses inside city limits need a current business license, and home-based or downtown businesses may have added planning or district steps.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 6, 2026
Chico trash service is built around three carts
Chico residential trash service uses garbage, recycling, and organics carts, with large items and hazardous waste handled through separate hauler or drop-off paths.
Stories & Notes
Stories and local context in Butte County
Place story · History and culture
Bidwell Mansion is now part of Chico's recovery story
Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park honors John and Annie Bidwell, but the park is closed after the December 2024 fire while State Parks works on what comes next.
Place story · History and culture
Chico has a yo-yo museum with a giant working Big-Yo
The National Yo-Yo Museum in downtown Chico holds a large public yo-yo display, contest history, memorabilia, club activity, and Big-Yo, a 256-pound working wooden yo-yo.
Place story · Outdoors
Bidwell Park gives Chico two very different kinds of green space
Bidwell Park in Chico stretches nearly 11 miles, with flatter shaded Lower Park and rougher Upper Park foothill terrain along Big Chico Creek.
County place story · History and culture
Paradise Depot Museum keeps the ridge railroad story close
Paradise Depot Museum carries the story of the Butte County Rail Road, logging, produce shipping, and the old route that later became a trail.
County place story · History and culture
Biggs shows why rice works in the Sacramento Valley
The Rice Experiment Station near Biggs connects a small Butte County city to rice breeding, valley water, farm research, seed work, and a crop many Californians do not expect.
County place story · History and culture
Gridley's museum sits inside an old bank building
Gridley's museum uses the 1909 Veatch Building to tell the story of a Butte County farm town rooted in orchards, rice, local business, and Main Street memory.
County place story · History and culture
Oroville's Chinese Temple keeps Gold Rush community history close
Oroville's Chinese Temple is a city-owned museum and active worship place tied to Chinese community history in Northern California's Gold Rush era.
County place story · Outdoors
Lake Oroville gives Butte County a big Feather River water day
Lake Oroville State Recreation Area has a major reservoir, dam views, boating, trails, camping, swimming, fishing, and Feather River history.