City
Chowchilla
Chowchilla is a city record. City or town offices may handle local rules inside their limits, while county offices still handle records, taxes, courts, and many services.
Starting point
Confirm the address is inside local limits first.
If the address is inside Chowchilla, city or town offices may handle local permits, code, and services. If it is outside limits, county routing may be the better first stop.
A mailing city is not always the same as city government jurisdiction.
2025 population
18,730
Land area
11.542 sq mi
Water area
0.046 sq mi
Directory notes
Local layers to keep on the same page.
Confirm city or town limits.
A mailing address can use a nearby place name. If the address is outside limits, county offices may handle permits, code, and land-use routes.
County still matters.
Madera County can still matter for assessor, tax collector, recorder, court, public health, social service, and election records.
Some layers are separate.
Water, sewer, fire, school, utilities, coast, earthquake maps, wildfire zones, parks, and trails may point outside city hall.
County layer
County shown for Chowchilla
Practical notes
Office, map, permit, and paperwork notes for Chowchilla
County layer · History and culture · Reviewed July 6, 2026
Madera County Museum turns the old courthouse into a local memory house
Madera County Museum sits in the old 1900 courthouse, with three floors of exhibits on agriculture, pioneer families, military history, water, and the original courtroom.
County layer · Cars and driving · Reviewed July 6, 2026
Madera Metro covers fixed routes and curbside Dial-A-Ride
Madera Metro provides fixed-route bus service plus Dial-A-Ride and ADA paratransit options, with route and scheduling help through the city's transit office.
County layer · History and culture · Reviewed July 7, 2026
Madera County Museum keeps the old courthouse working as memory
The old Madera County Courthouse now holds local museum rooms for farming, flumes, military history, family stories, and the original courtroom.
County layer · Home and property · Reviewed July 5, 2026
Madera curbside cleanup has a set-out routine
Madera's residential curbside cleanup helps with bulky household items, but it has city-limit, timing, pile-size, sorting, and hazardous-waste rules.
County layer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 4, 2026
Madera business licenses usually need a planning check first
Madera asks local business license applicants to clear the proposed location and activity with Planning before the license application is processed.
County layer · Home and property · Reviewed July 4, 2026
Madera County alerts work better when your phone is already signed up
Madera County emergency pages point residents to MC Alert, which can send texts for a fire or emergency in their area.
Almanac notes
Stories and local context near Chowchilla
Place note · History and culture
Fairmead turned landfill work into an Ice Age fossil story
The Fossil Discovery Center near Fairmead grew from fossils found at a Madera County landfill, including Ice Age animals from the San Joaquin Valley.
County layer · History and culture
A mountain train keeps Madera County's logging story moving
The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad near Fish Camp gives Madera County a living link to Sierra logging country, with narrow-gauge track, Shay locomotives, and a small museum stop.
County layer · Outdoors
Bass Lake gives Madera County a warm-water mountain day
Bass Lake sits in the Sierra National Forest above Oakhurst, with camping, boating, fishing, hiking, day-use areas, group areas, and accessible facilities at several recreation sites.