Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
San Fernando grades D overall, 573rd among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of safety. Its crime rate is higher than 80% of U.S. towns, with 88 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. San Fernando's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Lopez Adobe is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where San Fernando beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Paula AbdulEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far San Fernando is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 92% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 2%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,204 in 1920, 23,946 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 8 maps from 1900 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around San Fernando. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw21 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw13 mi LandmarkHollywood Sign
Big draw12 mi Theme parkUniversal Studios Hollywood8.7M visitors a year
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumHollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · Hollywood Sign: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Universal Studios Hollywood: 林振宇, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: CanonStarGal, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in San Fernando, 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 San Fernando.
San Fernando fares better on crime within California than nationally, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Los Angeles and other neighbors.
Since 1978, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in San Fernando.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Los Angeles Unified school district. Two of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Fernando MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 442 | – |
| Cesar E. Chavez Lrng Acads-Acad of Scientific Explr (ASE)Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 420 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
At 36.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 67% of California’s graded towns.
At 20.5 per 1,000 residents, San Fernando’s property crime rate is where California’s towns sit at 13.3 and U.S. towns at 9.9. The violent crime rate in San Fernando is 3.8 per 1,000 residents. San Fernando reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 80% report less.
| San Fernando | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.5 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 43.7°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.8°.
San Fernando has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. At 44°F, San Fernando’s January low is above both California’s towns (40°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). San Fernando’s July high is 90°F.
| San Fernando | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 44°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
San Fernando has about as many jobs (9,112) as working residents, but only 553 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave San Fernando for work: only 5% work in town. 5.3% of San Fernando workers work from home. Since 2013, San Fernando has added 1,218 jobs, to 9,112 in 2023.
| San Fernando | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 5.3% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
San Fernando beats the California average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 43% of adults feel lonely in San Fernando.
| San Fernando | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | San Fernando | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.2% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.1% | 5.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 20.5% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
68.7% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 55.3% across California.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| San Fernando | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cindy Montañez Natural Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 2. Las Palmas Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
| 3. San Fernando Recreation Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
25 within 15 miles of the center of San Fernando
About 8 of every 100 San Fernando residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
28 notable people were born in San Fernando.
City in California, United States
San Fernando (Spanish for "St. Ferdinand") is a general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is an enclave in the City of Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census the population of San Fernando was 23,946.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
San Fernando grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #573 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 7.7 years of the area's median household income ($95,958 across the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
28 notable people were born here, including Paula Abdul and Earl Young.
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