Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 54,911, settled in 1893. Public schools that outperform most of California.
Trash & recyclingHomes are expensive, about $1.1 million for a typical one and 11.5 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Overall it grades B−, ranked 209th of 841 in California. Its public schools beat 84% of California towns on state tests and graduation and the median household earns $116K. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Placentia’s typical home value is $1,101,000, above both the California town median ($709,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($332,000). Placentia is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. Placentia has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them George Key Ranch and A. S. Bradford House.
Where Placentia beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Elementary | K–6 | 834 |
| John O. Tynes Elementary | K–6 | 591 |
| Van Buren Elementary | K–6 | 538 |
Where Placentia’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Placentia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,606 in 1930, 51,824 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Placentia. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw9 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw27 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaAngel Stadium of AnaheimDisneyland: 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 · Angel Stadium of Anaheim: Staff Sgt. Chad McMeen, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Placentia, 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 Placentia.
Placentia has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and owes part of its health edge to its incomes, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.1M.
Its public schools are run by the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified school district. Three of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraemer MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 889 | – |
| Valencia HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,411 | A− |
| ParkviewTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 259 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
At 11.5 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.1M) costs more against local pay than in 84% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 33% in five years, to about $1.1M, against 13% across California.
Placentia’s median rent is $2,388 a month. The typical Placentia home is worth about $1,101,000, up 3% in a year, 45% above the California typical home.
| Placentia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,388 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Placentia.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7.4 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The trail density in Placentia is 1.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Tri City Park, 38 acres with 1.3 miles of trail.
| Placentia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tri City Park | 1.3 mi | 38 |
| 2. Kraemer Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 11 |
| 3. Parque De Los Vaqueros | 0.4 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 6,312 U.S. towns with household incomes like Placentia’s, it is healthier than 52%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Placentia beats the California average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 24% of adults have obesity in Placentia.
| Placentia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 11% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Placentia | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.2% | 10.6% |
| Fewer smokers | 8.8% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Placentia for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Anaheim (12%), Los Angeles (7%) and Irvine (7%).
| Placentia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $116,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 1,106 to 772 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 60% of towns.
| Placentia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 46.1°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 87.1°.
Placentia has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Placentia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 46°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 87°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. 44% of Placentia adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Placentia has grown 4.2% since 2020, to 54,911 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Placentia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.3 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.5, men 38.8.
| Placentia | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.5% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.2% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.8% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.4% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
41 within 15 miles of the center of Placentia
About 8 of every 100 Placentia residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
2 places in Placentia on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in California, United States
Placentia ( plə-SEN-shə) is a city in Orange County, California, United States. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Placentia's population was 51,233 at the 2020 US census. The city is primarily referred to as a bedroom community. In 1971, Placentia was honored with the All-America City Award: given out annually by the National Civic League to 10 cities in the United States.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Placentia.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placentia | #209 | B− | D− | C | A− | A− |
| Anaheim | #560 | D | D− | D | B | B− |
| Yorba Linda | #55 | A− | D− | B+ | A− | A |
| Fullerton | #317 | C+ | D− | C− | A− | B+ |
| Brea | #227 | B− | D− | C− | A− | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Placentia grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #209 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−.
Within California, it does better than 60% of towns.
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−.
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