Moving to Manteca is something that a number of people consider each year. We did some research and compiled some facts for this article to help you make your decision. How big is Manteca? Manteca has a population of about 72,000 which is mostly White and Hispanic people, with some Asians and African-Americans. Over 40% of the households there have children under the age of 18 years. Some of the towns near Manteca are Ripon, Escalon, Tracy and Lathrop; it is also not far from Stockton and Modesto. How is the weather? Manteca has warm, dry summers and winters that can be rainy and chilly. Snow can fall in winter, but it is very rare and if it does, the quantity is tiny. How much is housing? The median home price in Manteca is about $345,000 and the average rent is about $1300, though a 1-bedroom may be less than $1,000. There are some small homes in Manteca for less than $300,000, and a few condos, but not many. If you are open-minded there are also mobiles homes in the area for less than $100,000. Are there jobs? Some of the top employers in Manteca are: Manteca School District Kaiser Permanente Doctors Hospital of Manteca City of Manteca Wal-Mart Costco Target APDS Logistics How is the food? The word Manteca means “lard”, but the food in this small town is much better than you might expect, based on the town name. Here are some of the top-rated restaurants: Tokyo Sushi Billie Hills Hillbille Bar-B-Q Mangy Moose Cafe Ernie’s Food & Spirits Tandoori Grill Mom’s Thai House El Jardin Mexican Restaurant Mama Weber’s BBQ and More Johnny’s Restaurant Cabana Del Sol Kinnaree Thai Shooters Starfrutas Taqueria La Costa Taqueria La Estrella Pizza and Pints Kitty’s Kitchen Orchid Garden Panfino Patisserie Bean & Leaf Cafe Happy Pizza Hob Nob Hot Dogs Milano Pizza & Greek Deli Sakana Cafe Aroma Luu’s Chicken Bowl Taqueria Manteca Big Guido’s Pizza Take-U-Bake Grocery stores Manteca has many grocery stores that you might call conventional, such as: Safeway Raley’s Grocery Outlet Bargain Market Carniceria Rosita Food 4 Less Save Mart Jimmy’s Market La Super Altena Market Aki’s Food to Go La Mexicana Market Moving to Manteca is probably something that people who are living in much bigger cities like San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose or Los Angeles would be interested in. Manteca is small and therefore easier to get around in, it also has much lower home prices. If you live in a big city in California and don’t want to rent for your whole life, you might investigate moving to Manteca. How are the schools? The public schools in Manteca are rated about average by Great Schools. How are the politics? Like many people who live in Northern California, Mantecans mostly voted for Democrats in each election. This fact is probably not surprising if you are from northern California and are familiar with the politics. (If you are from somewhere other than California, perhaps you were not aware of how people vote typically in Manteca.) Are there parks? Manteca has a number of parks you can visit: Woodward Park Cotta Park Northgate Park Curran Grove Park Tidewater Bikeway Shasta Park Bella Vista Park Valverde Park colony Park Doxey Park Mistlin Sports Park is not in Manteca, it is in nearby Ripon, but it is a huge space where hot air balloons are launched and sports can be played. Is there access to nature? Caswell Memorial State Park has hiking trails and is near a river; it is near Ripon. The San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge is a little further south. Within about one hour of Manteca, you can visit the following places: Woodward Reservoir Regional Park Stanislaus County Park Modesto Reservoir Regional Park Turlock Lake State Recreation Area Knights Ferry Covered Bridge Park Frank Raines Park Yosemite and the Sierra Yosemite is one of the most visited of all the national parks; it is only about a 2-hour drive from Manteca. If you don’t want to drive for two hours, there are many other places that are closer like Copperopolis Lake. Sonora is a popular place to visit, and it is only about 55 miles from Manteca. Manteca is about 3 hours from Lake Tahoe, and if you take the shortest route by distance the trip is only 143 miles. So, moving to Manteca would be an advantage for someone who enjoys the outdoors and spends a lot of time there. Is there storage? Yes, and we have a storage property in Manteca. Is there entertainment in Manteca? Manteca has an AMC Showplace with 16 theaters; there is also a theater for live events in Tracy, which is nearby. How is the shopping? Some of the more popular shops are: Guess Factory Outlet Banana Republic Factory The Book Exchange Gamer’s Path Sephora Center Appliance Manteca Bedquarters Hash Smoke Shop Bass Pro Shops Vans Outlet Fisherman’s Warehouse Target German Glas Werks Stan & Bev’s Country Nursery Furniture Pros Simply Irresistible What about religion or churches? Most of the worship centers in Manteca are Christian, here are a number of them: Calvary Community Church Crossroads Grace Christian Worship Center St. Anthony’s Catholic Church Cornerstone Community Church The Place of Refuge First Christian Church Calvary Chapel Manteca Tabernacle of Praise Church What is near Manteca? South Lake Tahoe — 144 miles Yosemite — 87 miles San Francisco — 76 miles Oakland — 72 San Jose — 68 miles Livermore — 34 miles Modesto — 17 miles Manteca — 15 miles So, after reading all this information, are you still interested in moving to Manteca? Image Credit: Armaced, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0