Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ukiah earns a D−, 728th of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $66K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. Its crime rate is higher than 80% of U.S. towns, with 84 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. 39% of working residents work locally in Ukiah, above both California’s towns (6.6%) and U.S. towns (8%). The typical home is worth about $471K, 6.9 years of the Ukiah area’s $68K median household income. Ukiah has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Sun House and Palace Hotel.
Where Ukiah beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
8.4% of the town is conserved land, across 14 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Ukiah is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 624 in 1860, 16,607 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 4 maps from 1920 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ukiah, 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 Ukiah.
Ukiah fares better on crime within California than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of California.
Low Gap Park, at 161 acres with 6.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Trails total 17 miles in 14 parks and preserves. The trail network density in Ukiah is 3.1 miles per square mile.
| Ukiah | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 3.1 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.4% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Low Gap Park | 6.1 mi | 161 |
| 2. Riverside Park | 1.8 mi | 33 |
| 3. Twelfth District Fairgrounds | 0.3 mi | 31 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Ukiah Unified school district. Three of its 15 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pomolita MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 826 | C− |
| Ukiah HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,767 | C− |
| Redwood Collegiate AcademyTop results in townGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 122 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Ukiah’s FEMA risk score stands at 97 of 100. Since 1980, Ukiah has seen 48 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected losses in Ukiah break down as 58% from earthquakes and 41% from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Ukiah after 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2023.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 36 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 67% of California’s graded towns.
In Ukiah, the level of violent crime is 5.3 per 1,000 residents. Its property offense rate comes in at 12 per 1,000 residents.
| Ukiah | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.3 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
The typical value, about $471K, is 22% below its January 2022 peak. At about $471K, home values are down 21% in five years, against a rise of 13% across California.
The typical Ukiah home is worth about $471,000, down 2% in a year, 38% below the California typical home. 45% of Ukiah households live in a home they own. The rent at the middle of the market for Ukiah comes to $1,331 a month.
| Ukiah | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 45% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,331 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Ukiah weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 245 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 78% of California places with climate records. January nights average 36.4°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 77% of California places with climate records; July afternoons average 91.3°.
Ukiah’s July high is 91°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Ukiah | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 91°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 5,930 working residents takes 19.2 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Roughly one working resident in three has a job in Ukiah itself. The town had 8,468 jobs in 2023, up 1,564 from 2013. For Ukiah, the mean commuting time is 19 minutes. The top destinations are Santa Rosa (5%), Willits (2%) and Talmage (1%).
| Ukiah | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.3% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 10,115 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ukiah’s, it is healthier than 61%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
For adults in Ukiah, the share who had a checkup this year is 72%. Among adults here, 19% report frequent mental distress and 16% report frequent physical distress.
| Ukiah | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Ukiah | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.3% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 14.1% | 10.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.2% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ukiah
About 6 of every 100 Ukiah residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 places in Ukiah on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Ukiah.
City in the United States
Ukiah ( yoo-KY-ə; Pomo: Yokáya, meaning "deep valley" or "south valley") is the county seat of and the largest city in Mendocino County, in the North Coast region of California. Ukiah had a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves as the city center for Mendocino County and much of neighboring Lake County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ukiah grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #728 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−.
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−.
11 notable people were born here, including Shiloh Fernandez and Holly Near.
