Chowchilla, CA: how dark is the sky here?

Satellite radiance puts Chowchilla in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Chowchilla's sky is brighter than 52.5% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

Where to go for a darker sky near Chowchilla

Madera, CA, about 13 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Chowchilla. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Madera, 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 Chowchilla compares nationally

About 19,191 people live in Chowchilla, CA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Chowchilla places 1,675 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.