Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 26,401, settled in 1849.
A solid town with one catch. Where it does best is health: residents are healthier than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What counts against it is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $780K, 7.8 years of the Vallejo metro’s $100K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to a B overall, ranking 124th of 841 in California. Nationally, it does better than 64% of U.S. towns. 18% of the land in Benicia is conserved, above both California’s towns (4.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). This California town has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Benicia Arsenal and USCGC STORIS (cutter). On the outdoors, just 97 of California’s 1,064 towns do better.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Benicia beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1849, comes before those of 94% of the California towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,794 in 1880, 27,131 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1896 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Benicia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Benicia. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw22 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw24 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaOracle Park
Big draw25 mi GardenPresidio of San FranciscoAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Benicia, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Benicia.
Benicia fares better on crime within California than nationally, has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with San Francisco and other neighbors.
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 5.2% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 5,584 U.S. towns with household incomes like Benicia’s, it is healthier than 63%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
In Benicia, one in ten adults worry about having enough food. CDC measures, 32 in all: Benicia beats California on 12 and trails on 2. Two figures for adults in the town: 20% get no exercise outside work, 75% had a checkup this year.
| Benicia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 24% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Benicia | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The public schools here belong to the Benicia Unified school district. Two of the 8 schools are below, and why each made the list. The 5 public schools in Benicia teach 2,963 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benicia MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 947 | – |
| Benicia HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,335 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
The biggest park or preserve is Southampton Bay Wetland Natural Preserve, at 169 acres. Trails run 14 miles in 22 parks and preserves. Benicia’s concentration of trails is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Benicia Community Park | 1.4 mi | 47 |
| 2. Francesca Terrace Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 3. Southampton Bay Wetland Natural Preserve | 0.1 mi | 169 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1998, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Benicia. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 77% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Benicia after 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2023. Expected losses in Benicia break down as 72% from earthquakes and 25% from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Napa State Hospital weather station, 15 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 299 days, longer than in 97% of U.S. towns.
In Benicia, the peak summer temperature is 84°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Benicia has about as many jobs (13,000) as working residents, but only 1,662 people both live and work here.
Benicia: 7.6% of residents live below the poverty line. Most people who work leave Benicia to do it: just 14% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 1,800, to 13,000. Its median household income is $121,000.
| Benicia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $121,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 14.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 89% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 335 to 235 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Benicia’s rate of thefts and burglaries comes in at 8.1 per 1,000 residents. The level of violent crime in the town is 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Benicia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
A home in Benicia typically sold within 46 days of listing. Homes in the town are typically worth about $780,000, up 1.9% in a year, close to the California typical home. In Benicia, the median rent is $2,280 a month.
| Benicia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,280 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
10 within 15 miles of the center of Benicia
About 5 of every 100 Benicia residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
17.8% of the town is conserved land, across 22 parks and preserves.
11 places in Benicia on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Benicia.
One town shares a border with Benicia.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Benicia grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #124 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health, B for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
5 notable people were born here, including Addison Mizner and Robert Carston Arneson.
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