Chico, CA Night Sky Brightness
Chico, CA's night sky, measured from orbit
Chico's sky measures suburban edge here. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Chico's sky is brighter than 38.9% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.
Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things, explained in the Bortle scale guide.
Where to go for a darker sky near Chico
The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Susanville, CA, roughly 78 miles away in a straight line, rated rural. Road distance will be more.
Susanville, CA is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
How Chico compares nationally
Chico, CA counts roughly 102,911 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Chico's position, 1,240 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.