Ukiah, California

Area Profile

16,304 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Ukiah, in Mendocino County.

33out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 1% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity3,641st of 4,199 cities measured37
Schools3,864th of 4,162 cities measured15
Growth4,196th of 4,224 cities measured10
Housing affordability3,178th of 4,218 cities measured53
ClimateTop 32% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilience4,052nd of 4,226 cities measured10
Access4,163rd of 4,226 cities measured38
Economic stability3,424th of 4,226 cities measured38
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.5% and the Opportunity signal places Ukiah in the bottom 13%. The unemployment rate is published for Mendocino County, CA, which contains Ukiah, rather than for Ukiah alone.

In the public schools here, 27% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 4 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 10 the year before. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
16,304
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,160
Bottom 49% nationally
Density
2,971/sq mi
5.5 sq mi of land
Median age
39.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Micro area
Nearest major airport
SMF
92 mi · Sacramento Intl
Median home value
$458,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Mendocino County, CA, which contains Ukiah, is 5.5% — higher than in all but 12% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Mendocino County, CA, which contains Ukiah, grew 0.1% over the past year, to 34,340 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMendocino County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$68,21243rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMendocino County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,46236th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,9352024 ACS 5-Year$66,160Bottom 49%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,8802024 ACS 5-Year$37,291Top 39%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year18.2%Bottom 26%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.0 minTop 18%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year22.2%Top 46%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year70.4%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMendocino County, CA’s figureJuly 202634,340Bottom 38%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Mendocino County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−2.8%Bottom 15%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Mendocino County, CA’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Top 33%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMendocino County, CA’s figureJuly 202636,32539th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.0%Bottom 39%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%80th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Mendocino County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMendocino County, CA’s figureJuly 20265.5%Bottom 12%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%53rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202467k57k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,160 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.

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

27% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 41% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 20.4 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
20.4
across 14 of them
Math proficiency
27.0%
Bottom 16% in California
Reading proficiency
41.2%
Bottom 15% in California
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Ukiah HighUkiah Unified1,76719.026%52%
Pomolita MiddleUkiah Unified82619.219%35%
Calpella ElementaryUkiah Unified47522.637%27%
Grace Hudson ElementaryUkiah Unified44923.632%37%
Oak Manor ElementaryUkiah Unified41723.222%33%
Yokayo ElementaryUkiah Unified41423.025%34%
Frank Zeek ElementaryUkiah Unified39121.737%48%
Nokomis ElementaryUkiah Unified34221.422%27%
River Oak Charter · charterRiver Oak Charter District24522.337%42%
Sequoia Career Academy · charterSequoia Career Academy District14416.017%47%
Redwood Collegiate Academy · charterRedwood Collegiate Academy District12217.467%87%
South Valley High (Continuation)Ukiah Unified12017.15%5%

78.8% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of California is up 19% over five years, and up 0.3% 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 $3,445 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.75% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,713, some 29% above the $1,331 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,713 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $68,500 a year, about 104% of the median household income here of $66,160.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,331 a month.

A median home at $458,400 costs 4.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $110,335, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
33.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,713
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,331
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$458,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Ukiah’s median household income of $66,160, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+0.3%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+18.9%4th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+65.8%9th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year4.2Bottom 16%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year44.7%6th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4032024 ACS 5-Year6,67791st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,306Top 45%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,382Bottom 38%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,713Bottom 46%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$932024 ACS 5-Year$1,331Bottom 26%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$22,9452024 ACS 5-Year$458,40087th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4402024 ACS 5-Year$3,44578th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,3062024 ACS 5-Year$110,335Top 20%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year0.75%34th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year33.5%Bottom 25%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±702024 ACS 5-Year8988th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%64th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.0%45th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2112024 ACS 5-Year48989th 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.

Development Momentum

10/ 100
Ranks 4,196 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2022 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 3% since 2020, to 16,067 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 4 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Mendocino County, which contains Ukiah, lost about 0.6% 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 $68,212, close to the $65,462 of households that moved out.

At 0.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
4
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.2
Bottom 11% nationally
Year over year
−60%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202417k16k
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
−0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
25%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$68,212
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,462
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sonoma County, CA 398 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Lake County, CA 242 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Sacramento County, CA 92 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  4. Humboldt County, CA 90 people · 3.7% of arrivals
  5. Alameda County, CA 86 people · 3.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Sonoma County, CA 444 people · 16% of departures
  2. Lake County, CA 289 people · 10% of departures
  3. Sacramento County, CA 98 people · 3.5% of departures
  4. Los Angeles County, CA 70 people · 2.5% of departures
  5. Alameda County, CA 60 people · 2.1% 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 Mendocino County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420259.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 34.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station UKIAH MUNI AP, 1.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year572024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals34.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
57
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
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

10 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 48% of it.

LandslideModerate
EarthquakeHigh
WildfireHigh
DroughtModerate
Inland floodingHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
TsunamiModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: coastal flooding, heat wave, lightning, winter weather, tornado, hail, strong wind, cold wave, hurricane, 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
483
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,248
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.

Ukiah's police department reported 483 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,248.

Mendocino County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.6 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 39.3 per 100,000 residents in Mendocino County.

Homicide
3.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
39.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
24.7
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 Ukiah’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 Ukiah (Mendocino County) rather than Ukiah 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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Sacramento Intl at 92 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.1%Bottom 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle92 miBottom 2%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%Bottom 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Sacramento IntlSMF92 mi8,605 ft
Mc Clellan AirfieldMCC103 mi10,599 ft
Oakland San Francisco BayOAK112 mi10,520 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
33
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Compare

Put Ukiah side by side with a similar place.

Ukiah vs AtwaterUkiah vs The Dalles

Moving to Ukiah 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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 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 Ukiah

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Ukiah 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 Ukiah 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
9548233,164$69,772$491,300—