McFarland, CA's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts McFarland in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 59.2% of the 3,206 US 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.

How far McFarland is from a meaningfully darker sky

Delano, CA, about 7 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than McFarland. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Delano, 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 McFarland compares nationally

McFarland, CA counts roughly 14,365 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. McFarland places 1,890 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.