Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Homes are expensive, about $1.1 million for a typical one and 11.6 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Overall it grades B−, 227th among California's 841 graded towns. It is healthier than 87% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $131K. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Brea’s typical home value is $1,117,000, against $709,000 in California’s towns and $332,000 across U.S. towns. Brea is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. Brea City Hall and Park is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Brea beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
39,282 counted in 2010 and 47,325 in 2020; an estimated 47,260 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 20.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Brea is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,037 in 1920, 47,325 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2022 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brea. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw30 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw10 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw25 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: CanonStarGal, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brea, 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 Brea.
Brea draws workers from Anaheim and beyond, fares better on crime within California than nationally and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
43,605 jobs are based in Brea, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
The top destinations are Anaheim (8%), Los Angeles (7%) and Fullerton (6%). Only 9% of working residents stay in Brea for work; the rest commute out. The town’s average trip to work stands at 31 minutes. Also worth knowing: jobs based in the town fell to 43,605 in 2023, 4,263 fewer than in 2013.
| Brea | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $131,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.12M.
The public schools here belong to the Brea-Olinda Unified school district. Two of its 13 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The 6 public schools in Brea teach 3,089 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brea Junior HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 921 | A− |
| Brea Olinda HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,676 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Chino Hills State Park, at 253 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Across 15 parks and preserves: 22 miles of trail. For Brea, the trail network density is 1.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carbon Canyon Regional Park | 2.8 mi | 201 |
| 2. Chino Hills State Park | 1.1 mi | 253 |
| 3. Arovista Park | 1 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 4,417 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brea’s, it is healthier than 63%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
For adults in Brea, the share who have obesity is 22%. Two figures for adults locally: 8% smoke cigarettes, 11% report frequent physical distress.
| Brea | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 29% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Brea | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.9% | 10.6% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 11.6 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.12M) costs more against local pay than in 85% of California towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Home values are up 2.2% over the year to September 2026. For Brea, the median rent is $2,397 a month. A typical home locally is worth about $1,117,000, up 2.2% in a year, 47% above the California typical home. Brea: three in five households live in a home they own.
| Brea | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,397 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Brea has had one paid flood insurance claim since 1996. 69% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 30%. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2017.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 35.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 67% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,603 to 1,148 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The rate of thefts and burglaries in Brea is 22.1 per 1,000 residents. The violent offense rate locally is 1.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Brea | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 46.5°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 87.6°.
Snow is almost unheard of. The town’s January low is 47°F.
| Brea | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 88°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
42 within 15 miles of the center of Brea
About 7 of every 100 Brea residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Brea’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
13 notable people were born in Brea.
City in California, United States
Brea ( BRAY-uh; Spanish for 'tar') is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 47,325. It is 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city began as a center of crude oil production and was later propelled by citrus production. It is a significant retail center, including the Carbon Canyon Dam, Carbon Canyon Regional Park, Brea Mall and downtown Brea. The city has an extensive public art program that began in 1975 and has over 140 artworks placed throughout the city.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Brea.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brea | #227 | B− | D− | C− | A− | A |
| Yorba Linda | #55 | A− | D− | B+ | A− | A |
| Fullerton | #317 | C+ | D− | C− | A− | B+ |
| La Habra | #408 | C | D− | C | B+ | B |
| Placentia | #209 | B− | D− | C | A− | A− |
| Rowland Heights | #306 | C+ | D− | — | B+ | B+ |
Rowland Heights reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Brea with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brea grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #227 of 841 in California. It grades A for health, C− 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−.
13 notable people were born here, including Stephanie J. Block and Kyle Fogg.
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