Oroville, CA's night sky, measured from orbit

Oroville's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 46% 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 Oroville is from a meaningfully darker sky

Chico, CA, about 23 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Oroville. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Chico, 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 Oroville compares nationally

About 19,712 people live in Oroville, CA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Oroville places 1,466 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.