San Fernando, California

Area Profile

23,632 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for San Fernando, in Los Angeles County.

43out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 6% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,191st of 4,199 cities measured44
Schools3,771st of 4,162 cities measured18
Growth2,871st of 4,224 cities measured42
Housing affordability4,121st of 4,218 cities measured28
ClimateTop 4% of 4,225 cities measured96
Physical resilience3,948th of 4,226 cities measured11
AccessTop 2% of 4,226 cities measured100
Economic stability2,226th of 4,226 cities measured57
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.9% and the Opportunity signal places San Fernando in the bottom 24%. The unemployment rate is published for Los Angeles County, CA, which contains San Fernando, rather than for San Fernando alone.

In the public schools here, 25% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 19.6 students for every teacher.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 40% of renter income and the median home is 5.6 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
23,632
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$83,024
Top 30% nationally
Density
9,955/sq mi
2.4 sq mi of land
Median age
37.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
VNY
6 mi · Van Nuys
Median home value
$674,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Los Angeles County, CA, which contains San Fernando, is 4.9% — higher than in all but 29% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Los Angeles County, CA, which contains San Fernando, fell 0.8% over the past year, to 4,743,450 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLos Angeles County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$89,07671st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLos Angeles County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$93,76277th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,5482024 ACS 5-Year$83,024Top 30%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3122024 ACS 5-Year$31,301Bottom 41%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%Top 45%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year31.9 minBottom 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.9%Bottom 34%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year77.1%50th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLos Angeles County, CA’s figureAugust 20264,743,450Top 1%of 4,226August 2026
Employment change (3 years)Los Angeles County, CA’s figureAugust 2026−0.7%Bottom 43%of 4,226August 2026
Employment change (year over year)Los Angeles County, CA’s figureAugust 2026−0.8%Bottom 49%of 4,226August 2026
Labor forceLos Angeles County, CA’s figureAugust 20264,990,44399th percentileof 4,226August 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.3%Top 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$77,270Top 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$55,850Top 33%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%92nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Los Angeles County, CA’s figureAugust 2026−1.3%Top 5%of 4,226August 2026
Unemployment rateLos Angeles County, CA’s figureAugust 20264.9%Bottom 29%of 4,226August 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%38th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202483k65k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $83,024 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides385,530$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers160,270$42,110
Retail Salespersons130,650$37,700
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand120,720$42,390
Office Clerks, General112,270$48,100
Cashiers109,940$36,980

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Los Angeles County, CA, which contains this city.

25% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 19.6 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
25.3%
Bottom 13% in California
Reading proficiency
45.4%
Bottom 24% in California
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Vaughn Next Century Learning Center · charterVaughn Next Century Learning Center District2,62920.731%46%
San Fernando Senior HighLos Angeles Unified1,60818.926%52%
Gridley-Montanez Dual Language AcademyLos Angeles Unified45418.223%27%
San Fernando MiddleLos Angeles Unified44215.819%31%
San Fernando ElementaryLos Angeles Unified42120.022%33%
Cesar E. Chavez Lrng Acads-Acad of Scientific Explr (ASE)Los Angeles Unified42021.017%57%
Cesar E. Chavez Lrng Acads-Soc Just Humanitas AcadLos Angeles Unified41720.917%72%
Vista del Valle Dual Language AcademyLos Angeles Unified41621.935%41%
Morningside ElementaryLos Angeles Unified40820.426%37%
San Fernando Institute of Applied MediaLos Angeles Unified38419.217%25%
PUC Nueva Esperanza Charter Academy · charterPUC Nueva Esperanza Charter Academy District35123.419%36%
O'Melveny ElementaryLos Angeles Unified34521.642%48%

92.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 15% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 114.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division is up 32% over five years, and up 1.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,198 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.62% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,640, some 51% above the $1,748 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,640 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $105,600 a year, about 127% of the median household income here of $83,024.

The typical renter household here spends 40% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,748 a month.

A median home at $674,700 costs 5.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $120,417, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
114.7

Prices here run about 15% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
40.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,640
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,748
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$674,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against San Fernando’s median household income of $83,024, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area’s figure2023114.7Bottom 6%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+1.2%24th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+31.9%18th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+81.4%29th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year5.6Bottom 6%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year61.6%23rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3732024 ACS 5-Year6,61391st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,120Bottom 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,350Bottom 14%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,640Bottom 14%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$712024 ACS 5-Year$1,748Bottom 13%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$21,5692024 ACS 5-Year$674,70094th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3982024 ACS 5-Year$4,19885th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,6432024 ACS 5-Year$120,417Top 15%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.62%21st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year40.2%Bottom 11%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±402024 ACS 5-Year2574th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%55th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%43rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1462024 ACS 5-Year39787th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

42/ 100
Ranks 2,871 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, to 23,488 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 39 units authorized in 2025, up 95% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 48 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Los Angeles County, which contains San Fernando, lost about 1.1% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $89,076, close to the $93,762 of households that moved out.

At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
48
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.0
Bottom 43% nationally
Year over year
+55%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202424k23k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
47%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$89,076
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$93,762
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Orange County, CA 23,952 people · 14% of arrivals
  2. San Bernardino County, CA 18,695 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Riverside County, CA 10,934 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  4. San Diego County, CA 6,906 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  5. Ventura County, CA 6,332 people · 3.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. San Bernardino County, CA 34,872 people · 13% of departures
  2. Orange County, CA 31,420 people · 12% of departures
  3. Riverside County, CA 20,742 people · 8.0% of departures
  4. Ventura County, CA 10,470 people · 4.0% of departures
  5. Clark County, NV 10,100 people · 3.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Los Angeles County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202510120
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−61%).

Weather & climate

12 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 46°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 13.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 80, in the Moderate band, and about 133 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station VAN NUYS AP, 6.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals13.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals121991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year1332024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year802024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
80
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
164
90th percentile index
Days above 100
133
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

11 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and wildfire, with earthquake alone responsible for 60% of it.

Inland floodingHigh
EarthquakeHigh
WildfireModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, landslide, tornado, lightning, hail, avalanche, coastal flooding, strong wind, winter weather, tsunami, drought, cold wave, hurricane, volcanic activity, ice storm.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
376
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,053
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

San Fernando's police department reported 376 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,053.

Los Angeles County records 4.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 6.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 17.8 per 100,000 residents in Los Angeles County.

Homicide
4.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
17.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
8.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by San Fernando’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around San Fernando (Los Angeles County) rather than San Fernando itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

9 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Van Nuys at 6 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year94.4%Top 28%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle6 miTop 13%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle9Top 5%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%Top 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Van NuysVNY6 mi8,001 ft
Los Angeles IntlLAX24 mi12,923 ft
Palmdale USAF Plant 42PMD31 mi12,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
43
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Other cities in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Los AngelesLos Angeles County3,857,26346Los Angeles vs San Fernando
Long BeachLos Angeles County455,54846Long Beach vs San Fernando
AnaheimOrange County344,52141Anaheim vs San Fernando
Santa AnaOrange County312,53446
IrvineOrange County311,69057
Santa ClaritaLos Angeles County230,22149
Huntington BeachOrange County195,24053
GlendaleLos Angeles County190,74846
Garden GroveOrange County170,96452
LancasterLos Angeles County169,16932
PalmdaleLos Angeles County164,63435
PomonaLos Angeles County147,94338

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put San Fernando side by side with a similar place.

San Fernando vs LawndaleSan Fernando vs Montebello

Moving to San Fernando from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
August 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in San Fernando

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in San Fernando with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track San Fernando closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9134033,424$85,261$661,500—