Maxwell (formerly, Occident) is a census-designated place and farm community in Colusa County, California. It lies at an elevation of 92 feet (28 m). Located off Interstate 5, it is house to Maxwell High School. The main crop grown is rice, though a variety of others such as grapes, almonds, olives, squash, and sunflowers are grown as well. Its ZIP code is 95955 and its Place code is 530. Maxwell’s population was 1,103 at the 2010 census.

The community bears the name of its founder. Swifts Stone Corral is listed as a California Historical Landmark No. 238. The indigenous owner and builder of this rock corral was Granville P. Swift, a original of Kentucky. In 1847 Swift began ranching in Stone Creek Valley in Colusa County. In 1850 he and his partner in crime Frank Sears needed a corral and, as there was no timber in the surrounding country, they built one from the flat stones that were scattered greater than the area.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Maxwell had a population of 1,103. The population density was 512.9 inhabitants per square mile (198.0/km²). The racial makeup of Maxwell was 734 (43.9%) White, 11 (0.7%) African American, 14 (0.8%) Native American, 9 (0.5%) Asian, 2 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 306 (18.3%) from new races, and 27 (1.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 570 persons (34.1%).

The Census reported that 1,103 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized society quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.