A 2000s Madera kitchen with builder-grade cabinets, a 1970s bath out in the Ranchos, an older Chowchilla house with one small bathroom: the valley side of Madera County has a little of everything. Here’s what to know before you plan a remodel there.

Madera, Chowchilla, and the Ranchos

Madera is the county seat, with Highways 99, 41, and 145 running through it and the Fresno River passing north of downtown. Chowchilla is about 16 miles northwest of Madera along Highway 99; it incorporated in 1923, while Madera dates to 1907. The rural Ranchos area was one Census place until 2020, when it was split into Madera Ranchos, where homes generally sit on half-acre to one-acre lots, and Bonadelle Ranchos, where most sit on 2 acres or more. Together the two places hold roughly 10,000 residents by Census estimates, with the Sierra foothills rising about 7 miles to the northeast.

Oakhurst and Coarsegold are in Madera County too, but we group them with the mountain communities on our Sierra Foothills service area page.

Drive times from Fresno

Madera and the Madera Ranchos are each about 30 minutes from our shop by route estimate, and Chowchilla is about 50, in light traffic. That keeps the valley side of Madera County within an hour of the shop.

Housing ages across the county

Census estimates put Madera’s median home at about 1991, and the 2000s are its biggest building decade, with roughly 27% of homes. About 1 in 10 homes there predates 1950. Chowchilla’s median is older, around 1983, with about 26% built in the 2000s, about 20% in the 1970s, and roughly 13% before 1950.

In Madera Ranchos, the median is around 1985, and roughly 6 in 10 homes were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Next door in Bonadelle Ranchos, the median is about 1993. Owner occupancy is high in both, around 88% and 91%, compared with about 52% in the city of Madera.

Kitchen and bath work by era

Madera’s 2000s homes are reaching their first full remodel: granite counters, maple or cherry cabinets, primary baths with garden tubs, and builder-grade shower pans. In the Ranchos, 1970s and 1980s houses tend to have soffits, oak cabinets, tile counters, and fiberglass tub surrounds. Chowchilla’s 1970s homes, about a fifth of its housing, tend to share those features.

Pre-1950 homes in Madera and Chowchilla may still have plaster, cast-iron tubs, and original galvanized piping, and lead-safe work rules from the EPA cover any home built before 1978. If your home is on a private well, as homes in Bonadelle Ranchos are, mention it before the consultation. Relocating fixtures or adding circuits calls for licensed plumbing or electrical trades, which we assess on site.

City and county permit offices

Inside Madera city limits, permits go through the City of Madera; our City of Madera permit guide covers that office. Chowchilla is a separate incorporated city with its own building department. Both Ranchos and other unincorporated addresses go through Madera County, explained in the Madera County permit guide. The in-home consultation is where your project’s permit needs get pinned down.

Getting started in Madera County

Use the kitchen estimator or bathroom estimator, then add your contact details and ZIP code. The ZIP code lets us confirm coverage, and your answers produce a personalized planning range, not a quote. If the project fits, book a free in-home consultation; we schedule them Monday through Saturday. Doing both rooms? Kitchen and bathroom estimates run separately so the questions fit each one.