AreaProfile

Visalia, CA

Metro Area Profile

478,693 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Visalia, CA metropolitan area.

46
Area Score
Bottom 4% of 361 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity351st of 361 published metros24
GrowthTop 35% of 440 published metros59
Housing affordability344th of 441 published metros74
ClimateTop 36% of 441 published metros71
Physical resilience416th of 441 published metros14
Access331st of 441 published metros67
Economic stability283rd of 441 published metros48
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 10.1% and the Opportunity signal places Visalia in the bottom 3%.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, earthquake and heat wave.

Its Area Score of 46 places Visalia in the top 96% of published metro profiles.

At a glance

Population
478,693
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,300
Top 37% nationally
Density
99/sq mi
4823.9 sq mi of land
Median age
32.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Visalia, CA
Nearest major airport
BFL
57 mi · Meadows Fld
Median home value
$330,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 10.1% is lower than 1% of the 361 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.5% over the past year, to 195,387 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,532$71,300Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$459$28,185Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate17.9%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.5 minTop 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher16.6%Bottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment195,387Top 35%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.2%Bottom 28%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.5%Bottom 27%June 2026
Labor force217,334Top 33%June 2026
Labor force participation61.1%Top 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,390Bottom 33%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,130Bottom 20%2025 OEWS
Metro employment171,140Top 37%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.6%Bottom 11%June 2026
Unemployment rate10.1%Top 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/06127.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 10.1% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Visalia, CA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse21,420$34,800
Home Health and Personal Care Aides8,220$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,850$38,600
Cashiers4,110$34,770
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand4,070$39,960
Retail Salespersons3,920$35,990

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,280 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.6 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,280
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$330,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.63Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate58.5%Bottom 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±147154,202Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$25$1,280Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,959$330,100Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.5%Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.1%Bottom 18%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
59/ 100
Top 35% of 440 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

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 grown 2% since 2020, reaching 483,546 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 6% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 4.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
2,015
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.2
Top 39% nationally
Year over year
+36%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
6.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024484k474k
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.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.1 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LINDSAY, 15.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation12.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high96°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing34°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

14 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and heat wave.

Heat waveHigh
Inland floodingHigh
WildfireElevated
EarthquakeHigh
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tornado, strong wind, winter weather.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 57 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Meadows FldBFL57 mi10,849 ft
Fresno Yosemite IntlFAT64 mi9,539 ft
Mojave Air & Space Port/Rutan FldMHV88 mi12,503 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
46
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.