Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 103,850, founded in 1851.
For a city of 103,850, Vacaville does unevenly: it grades C, ranked 414th of 841 in California. It is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. The trade-offs: the typical home is worth about $601K, 6 years of the Vallejo metro’s $100K median household income, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Vacaville’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile, against 1.0 in California’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Vacaville has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Pena Adobe and Vacaville Town Hall.
Where Vacaville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
92,428 counted in 2010 and 102,386 in 2020; an estimated 103,850 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Vacaville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 343 in 1870, 102,386 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1842 and 6 maps from 1917 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vacaville, 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 Vacaville.
Vacaville owes part of its health edge to its incomes and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
That puts Vacaville where California’s towns sit at 4.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. 50 miles of trail in 40 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Lagoon Valley & Peña Adobe Park, 302 acres with 3.1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lagoon Valley & Peña Adobe Park | 3.1 mi | 302 |
| 2. Centennial Park | 1 mi | 99 |
| 3. Alamo Creek Park | 0.9 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Vacaville Unified school district. Two of its 25 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willis Jepson MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 954 | – |
| Vacaville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,044 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Since 1982, 81 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vacaville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 2,476 to 1,829 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 50% of towns. Vacaville’s property crime rate is 14.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Vacaville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,986 U.S. towns with household incomes like Vacaville’s, it is less healthy than 58%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Vacaville beats the California average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 71% of Vacaville adults had a checkup this year.
| Vacaville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 36% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 29% | 35% |
| What stands out | Vacaville | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.8% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.1% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median rent in Vacaville is $2,299 a month. The typical Vacaville home is worth about $601,000, about the same as a year ago, 21% below the California typical home. 61% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Vacaville.
| Vacaville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,299 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 61% | 55% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Vacaville has mild winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 39° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 5 of Vacaville’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Vacaville grew to 32,280 in 2023, 4,540 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Fairfield (13%), Sacramento (6%) and San Francisco (4%).
| Vacaville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $111,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.2% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Vacaville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 38.2 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 16% | 18% |
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1 point). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.5, men 37.8.
| Vacaville | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.2% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.6% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.5% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.9% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.6% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.9% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.7% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vacaville. Close and well known come first.
21 mi LakeLake Berryessa
21 mi Theme parkSix Flags Discovery Kingdom
37 mi Stadium & arenaCalifornia Memorial Stadium
33 mi MountainMount Diablo
31 mi State parkSutter's Fort
32 mi Stadium & arenaARCO ArenaLake Berryessa: Unknown, Public domain · Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Tinned Elk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · California Memorial Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Mount Diablo: Trurl66, Public domain · Sutter's Fort: Ian Howard, CC BY 2.5 · ARCO Arena: CLopez63, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Vacaville
About 7 of every 100 Vacaville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
3 places in Vacaville on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Vacaville.
City in California, United States
Vacaville is a city in Solano County, California, United States. It is located 35 miles (56 km) from Sacramento and 55 miles (89 km) from San Francisco, on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in 1851 and is named after Juan Manuel Vaca. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it the third-largest city in Solano County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Vacaville.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacaville | #414 | C | D− | C | B | B+ |
| Hartley | — | — | C− | — | B | A− |
| Elmira | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fairfield | #532 | C− | D− | C− | B | B |
Hartley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Hartley reports no FBI crime data of its own. Elmira isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vacaville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Vacaville grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #414 of 841 in California. It grades B+ for health, C for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 50% of towns.
14 notable people were born here, including Bonnie McKee and Tawny Newsome.
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