Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Santa Paula grades D overall, 612th among California's 841 graded towns. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 79% of U.S. towns. Only 58 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on hazard risk. Santa Paula has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Glen Tavern Hotel and Ebell Club of Santa Paula. Santa Paula's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 89% of U.S. towns.
Where Santa Paula beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Glen Tavern HotelWhere Santa Paula’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 Santa Paula is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 188 in 1880, 30,657 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1903 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Santa Paula. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Theme parkSix Flags Magic Mountain3.3M visitors a year
16 mi MuseumRonald Reagan Presidential Library
Big draw34 mi DamSt. Francis Dam
39 mi MuseumGetty Center508K visitors a year
39 mi MuseumJ. Paul Getty Museum2.0M visitors a year
14 mi National ParkChannel Islands National Park227K visitors a yearSix Flags Magic Mountain: Alton, CC BY 3.0 · Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · St. Francis Dam: Stearns, H.T. USGS, Public domain · Getty Center: Derbrauni, CC BY 4.0 · J. Paul Getty Museum: Jelson25, Public domain · Channel Islands National Park: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo
Who provides power, water and the rest in Santa Paula, 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 Santa Paula.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 99% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 27 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Santa Paula.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Santa Paula Unified school district. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glen City ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 675 | – |
| Santa Paula HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,494 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Santa Paula for work: only 12% work in town. 4.7% of Santa Paula workers work from home, below both the California town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (11%). The top destinations are San Buenaventura (Ventura) (14%), Los Angeles (10%) and Oxnard (9%).
| Santa Paula | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 4.7% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $79,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
4.2 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Creek Sports Park, at 37 acres. Santa Paula’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile, against 1.0 in California’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Santa Paula | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.7% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Creek Sports Park | 0.3 mi | 37 |
| 2. Harding Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Charles M Teague Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Santa Paula beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 21% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Santa Paula.
| Santa Paula | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 22% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Santa Paula | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 21% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 42.2°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 85.1°.
Santa Paula has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The January low in Santa Paula is 42°F.
| Santa Paula | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 85°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Santa Paula’s violent crime rate is 3.4 per 1,000 residents. Within California, it does better than 72% of towns. Santa Paula’s property crime rate is 6.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Santa Paula | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Santa Paula home is worth about $710,000, up 1.7% in a year, 7% below the California typical home. 56% of Santa Paula households own their home.
| Santa Paula | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,736 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Santa Paula
About 6 of every 100 Santa Paula residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
4 places in Santa Paula on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Santa Paula.
City in California, United States
Santa Paula is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Paula was one of the early centers of California's petroleum industry. The Union Oil Company Building, the founding headquarters of the Union Oil Company of California in 1890, now houses the California Oil Museum. The population was 30,657 at the 2020 census, up from 29,321 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Santa Paula grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #612 of 841 in California. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 72% of towns.
Yes. That is 6.5 years of the area's median household income ($109,797 across the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, 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.
11 notable people were born here, including Eric Fleming and Danny Flores.
