Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Vallejo grades D− overall, ranked 724th of 841 in California, mostly because of safety. Its crime rate is higher than 96% of U.S. towns, with 949 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. Vallejo’s violent crime rate is 7.7 per 1,000 residents, where California’s towns sit at 2.9 and U.S. towns at 1.6. The biggest park or preserve is San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, at 3,459 acres. Only 67 of California’s 1,063 towns score higher on history.
Where Vallejo beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Mare Island Naval Shipyard is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,188 in 1870, 126,090 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1876 and 3 maps from 1949 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Vallejo is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 91% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 4%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vallejo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
in town Theme parkSix Flags Discovery Kingdom
Big draw23 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw23 mi LandmarkLombard Street
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaOracle ParkAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Tinned Elk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vallejo, 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 Vallejo.
Vallejo has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Reported crimes fell from 6,104 to 4,683 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Vallejo’s property crime rate is 30.4 per 1,000 residents. Vallejo reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Vallejo City Unified school district. Two of its 32 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caliber: ChangeMakers AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 975 | – |
| Jesse M. Bethel HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,418 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
106 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 18 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 106 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vallejo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
49 miles of trail in 38 parks and preserves. The trail density in Vallejo is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve | 1.4 mi | 109 |
| 2. Dan Foley Park | 0.7 mi | 43 |
| 3. Blue Rock Springs Park | 0.7 mi | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Vallejo for work: only 13% work in town. Jobs based in Vallejo fell to 26,197 in 2023, 1,468 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are San Francisco (9%), Oakland (5%) and Fairfield (5%).
| Vallejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $517K, is 12% below its June 2022 peak. At about $517K, home values are down 3% in five years, against a rise of 13% across California.
The typical Vallejo home is worth about $517,000, down 2.2% in a year, 32% below the California typical home. 57% of Vallejo households own their home.
| Vallejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,073 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 57% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 62% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 42.5°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 75.4°.
Vallejo has warm winters and cool summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Vallejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 75°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 43°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. 20% of residents are under 18 in Vallejo. Vallejo has lost 2.2% of its people since 2020, down to 123,287 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Vallejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.6 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
50.9% women, 49.1% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.1, men 39.1.
| Vallejo | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.3% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.7% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.9% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.6% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.2% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Vallejo beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Vallejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Vallejo | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.7% | 7.3% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.6% | 3.1% |
| More adults with high blood pressure | 34.4% | 30.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Vallejo
About 7 of every 100 Vallejo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
2 colleges in town.
9 places in Vallejo on the National Register of Historic Places.
49 notable people were born in Vallejo.
City in California, United States
Vallejo ( və-LAY-(h)oh; Spanish pronunciation: [baˈʎexo] ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 United States census. Vallejo is home to the Cal Poly Maritime Academy, Touro University California, and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Vallejo is named after Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the famed Californio general and statesman. The city was founded in 1851 on General Vallejo's Rancho Suscol to serve as the capital city of California, which it was from 1852 to 1853, after which the Californian government moved to neighboring…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Vallejo.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Vallejo grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #724 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($100,401 across the Vallejo, 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−.
49 notable people were born here, including Jeff Gordon and H.E.R..
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