Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,474, laid out in 1874. 3.9 times the nonprofits per person than the typical California town.
Trash & recyclingFEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. Overall it grades C+, 269th among California's 841 graded towns. It has 18 miles of trail and it is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $1.2 million for a typical one and 10.5 times the Oxnard metro’s $110K median household income. Ojai’s trail density is 4.1 miles per square mile, against 1.0 in California’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Ojai's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 98% of U.S. towns. Ojai has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel and Thacher School Historic District.
Where Ojai beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
13.3% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Ojai is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,468 in 1930, 7,637 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 5 maps from 1903 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ojai, 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 Ojai.
Ojai fares better on crime within California than nationally and trades workers with Los Angeles and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
18 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Valley View Preserve, 198 acres with 3.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Valley View Preserve | 3.3 mi | 198 |
| 2. Ojai Meadows Preserve | 0.9 mi | 31 |
| 3. Soule County Park | 0.7 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Ojai Unified school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Nordhoff High, with 576 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topa Topa ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 347 | B |
| Nordhoff HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 576 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Ojai’s FEMA risk score is 100 of 100, above both California’s towns (88 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). Since 1978, 26 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ojai.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 10.5 years of the Oxnard metro’s $110K median household income, the typical home (about $1.16M) costs more against local pay than in 79% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
The median rent in Ojai is $1,955 a month. The typical Ojai home is worth about $1,155,000, up 2.1% in a year, 52% above the California typical home. 59% of Ojai households own their home.
| Ojai | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,955 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Ojai beats the California average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 25% of adults have obesity in Ojai.
| Ojai | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 29% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 78% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Ojai | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.6% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.3% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Ojai weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 235 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 80% of California places with climate records.
Ojai has mild winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 39° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ojai has about as many jobs (4,310) as working residents, but only 623 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 21.6 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Most working residents leave Ojai for work: only 17% work in town. Ojai’s average trip to work is 22 minutes. Jobs based in Ojai grew to 4,310 in 2023, 1,275 more than in 2013.
| Ojai | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.2% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
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. Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ojai. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Theme parkSix Flags Magic Mountain3.3M visitors a year
28 mi MuseumRonald Reagan Presidential Library
14 mi National ParkChannel Islands National Park227K visitors a year
28 mi LakeLake Piru
40 mi MountainPoint Dume
32 mi National forestLos Padres National ForestSix Flags Magic Mountain: Alton, CC BY 3.0 · Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Channel Islands National Park: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Lake Piru: tomsaint11, CC BY 2.0 · Point Dume: OMCV, Public domain · Los Padres National Forest: Taken by Antandrus, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Ojai
About 4 of every 100 Ojai residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
12 notable people were born in Ojai.
City in California, United States
Ojai ( OH-hy; Ventureño: ’Awhay̓) is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is about 10 miles (16 km) long by 3 miles (5 km) wide and divided into a lower and an upper valley, each of similar size, surrounded by hills and mountains. To the north, the Ojai Valley is bordered by the Los Padres National Forest. The population was 7,637 at the 2020 census, up from 7,461 at the 2010 census. Ojai is known for its boutique hotels, recreation opportunities, hiking, and farmers' market of local organic agriculture. It has small businesses spe…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ojai.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ojai | #269 | C+ | D− | B | B | B+ |
| Meiners Oaks | #495 | C− | D− | — | B | B+ |
| Mira Monte | #540 | C− | D | — | B | B |
Meiners Oaks and Mira Monte report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ojai with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ojai grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #269 of 841 in California. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk 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−.
Ojai was laid out in 1874 and has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 12 notable people were born here, including Dave England and Larry Linville.
