Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fullerton is a city of 138,675, and it grades C+ overall, 317th among California's 841 graded towns. Its schools rank ahead of 81% of California towns and it is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. The trade-offs: homes are expensive, about $1.0 million for a typical one and 10.8 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Fullerton’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile, where California’s towns sit at 1.0 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Its National Register listings include Muckenthaler House and Elephant Packing House. Fullerton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Fullerton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Dr. George C. Clark House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| California State University-Fullerton | 38,210 |
| Fullerton College | 12,859 |
| Marshall B Ketchum University | 679 |
Its 23 National Register listings are more than in 96% of California towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,725 in 1910, 143,617 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Fullerton is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fullerton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw5 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw28 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw23 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw22 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 · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, 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 Fullerton, 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 Fullerton.
Fullerton 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.
For Fullerton, that is against 4.2% in California’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. 39 miles of trail in 45 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Craig Regional Park, at 150 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brea Dam Park | 2.7 mi | 105 |
| 2. Fullerton Arboretum | 2.3 mi | 24 |
| 3. Hillcrest Park | 1.5 mi | 43 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.04M.
Its public schools are run by the Fullerton Elementary school district. Three of its 35 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert C. Fisler ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 892 | – |
| Troy HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,504 | A+ |
| Sunny Hills HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,337 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Since 1978, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fullerton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 35.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 67% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 3,554 to 2,918 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Fullerton’s violent crime rate is 3.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Fullerton | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.2 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 10.8 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.04M) costs more against local pay than in 82% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 29% in five years, to about $1.04M, against 13% across California.
The median rent in Fullerton is $2,194 a month. The typical Fullerton home is worth about $1,038,000, up 3% in a year, 36% above the California typical home. 52% of Fullerton households own their home.
| Fullerton | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,194 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 52% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 62% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,943 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fullerton’s, it is healthier than 56%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Fullerton beats the California average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 24% of adults have obesity in Fullerton.
| Fullerton | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fullerton | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 17.3% | 20.8% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.3% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 46.7°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 85.8°.
Fullerton has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Fullerton | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 86°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fullerton has about as many jobs (58,728) as working residents, but only 6,243 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Fullerton for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Fullerton has added 6,606 jobs, to 58,728 in 2023. The top destinations are Anaheim (10%), Los Angeles (8%) and Irvine (5%).
| Fullerton | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. Fullerton has lost 3.5% of its people since 2020, down to 138,675 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 43% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Fullerton | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 36.9 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 16% | 18% |
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 37.7, men 36.2.
| Fullerton | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.5% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 15.4% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.1% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.5% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.9% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
42 within 15 miles of the center of Fullerton
About 10 of every 100 Fullerton residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 colleges in town.
23 places in Fullerton on the National Register of Historic Places.
48 notable people were born in Fullerton.
City in California, United States
Fullerton ( FUUL-ər-tən) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. Historically, it was a center of agriculture, notably groves of Valencia oranges and other citrus crops, as well as petroleum extraction; transportation; and manufacturing. It is home to numerous higher educational institutions, particularly California State University, Fullerton and Fullerton College. From the mid-1940s through the late 1990s, Fullerton was home to a large industrial base made up of aerospace contractors, canneries, paper products manufacturers, and is considered to be the birthplace of th…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Fullerton.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fullerton grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #317 of 841 in California. It grades B+ 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−.
48 notable people were born here, including Gwen Stefani and Janet Evans.
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