Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to College of the Sequoias.
Visalia earns a D, ranked 575th of 841 in California, mostly because of safety. It reports more crime per resident than 82% of U.S. towns, including 610 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 69% of U.S. towns. 44% of working residents work locally in Visalia, against 6.6% in California’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Visalia is home to College of the Sequoias. Visalia's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Visalia beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| College of the Sequoias | 11,410 |
| San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia | 959 |
Robert B. Laughlin
The Pioneer2 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Visalia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 548 in 1860, 141,384 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 4 maps from 1927 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Visalia, 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 Visalia.
Visalia has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
The typical Visalia home is worth about $396,000, up 1.8% in a year, 48% below the California typical home. Visalia’s median rent is $1,490 a month.
| Visalia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,490 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 50% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Visalia Unified school district. Three of its 49 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgeview MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 975 | A |
| Redwood HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,490 | A |
| Oak Grove ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 756 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 4,156 to 3,184 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Visalia is 4.1 per 1,000 residents. Visalia reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 82% report less. The property crime rate in Visalia is 17.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Visalia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.5 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 24 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Visalia.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Visalia weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 328 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 97.4°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 38.8°.
Visalia has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Visalia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 97°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Since 2013, Visalia has added 13,729 jobs, to 61,645 in 2023. The top destinations are Fresno (6%), Tulare (6%) and Hanford (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.
| Visalia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
16 miles of trail in 41 parks and preserves. Mooney Grove Park, at 131 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Visalia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverway Sports Park | 1.8 mi | 77 |
| 2. Mooney Grove Park | 1.1 mi | 131 |
| 3. Stonebrook Park | 0.5 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Visalia beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 13% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Visalia.
| Visalia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Visalia | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 13% | 10.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.9% | 7.3% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 17.1% | 14.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Visalia
About 7 of every 100 Visalia residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
124,442 counted in 2010 and 141,384 in 2020; an estimated 146,541 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Visalia on the National Register of Historic Places.
38 notable people were born in Visalia.
City in California, United States
Visalia ( vy-SAYL-yə, vih-) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183rd in the United States. As the county seat of Tulare County, Visalia serves as the economic and governmental center to one of the most productive agricultural counties in the country.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Visalia.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visalia | #575 | D | D | C− | B | B− |
| Patterson Tract | — | — | C+ | — | B− | C |
| Goshen | #648 | D | C | — | B− | C− |
Patterson Tract has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Patterson Tract and Goshen report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Visalia with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Visalia grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #575 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.
Yes. That is 5.6 years of the area's median household income ($71,300 across the Visalia, 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.
38 notable people were born here, including Robert B. Laughlin and Monte Melkonian.
