Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 81,741, settled in 1887.
Homes are expensive, about $929K for a typical one and 9.7 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Overall it grades C, 423rd of 841 graded towns in California. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Buena Park’s January low is 47°F, above both the California town median (40°F) and the median of U.S. towns (22°F). Buena Park's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Ralph B. Clark Regional Park, at 46 acres with 1.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Buena Park beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Buena Park is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 87% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 3%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 46,401 in 1960, 84,034 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 5 maps from 1949 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Buena Park. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big drawin town Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw26 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw18 mi MuseumUSS IowaDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · USS Iowa: PH1 Jeff Hilton, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Buena Park, 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 Buena Park.
Buena Park fares better on crime within California than nationally and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
Since 1995, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Buena Park.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Two of its 20 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles G. Emery ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 646 | C− |
| Buena Park HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,682 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
At 34.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 2,561 to 1,871 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Buena Park is 19.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Buena Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 9.7 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $929K) costs more against local pay than in 76% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
Buena Park’s median rent is $2,206 a month. The typical Buena Park home is worth about $929,000, up 2.8% in a year, 22% above the California typical home. 55% of households own their home in Buena Park.
| Buena Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,206 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 55% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 46.7°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 83.4°.
Buena Park has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6.0 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves.
| Buena Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ralph B. Clark Regional Park | 1.8 mi | 46 |
| 2. Bellis Park | 0.9 mi | 20 |
| 3. Peak Park | 0.7 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 7,055 U.S. towns with household incomes like Buena Park’s, it is less healthy than 63%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Buena Park beats the California average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 24% of Buena Park adults have obesity.
| Buena Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Buena Park | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 17.3% | 20.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Buena Park has about as many jobs (33,479) as working residents, but only 2,665 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Buena Park for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Buena Park has added 2,873 jobs, to 33,479 in 2023. The top destinations are Los Angeles (10%), Anaheim (9%) and Irvine (5%).
| Buena Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $111,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.8% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. Buena Park has lost 2.7% of its people since 2020, down to 81,741 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Buena Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 37.3 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1 point. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.0, men 36.7.
| Buena Park | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.3% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.2% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.2% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.2% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.7% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.1% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.8% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
45 within 15 miles of the center of Buena Park
About 9 of every 100 Buena Park residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
City in California, United States
Buena Park (BWEH-nuh); buena, Spanish for "good") is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, including Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown Santa Ana, the county seat, and is within the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Buena Park.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Buena Park grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #423 of 841 in California. It grades B for health, C− for safety and B 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−.
2 notable people were born here, including Fili Moala and Jason Cabinda.
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